A history of the Presbyterian Church, Madison, N.J. : a discourse, delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1854

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V^

\

A HISTORY

OF THE

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,

MADISON, N.J.

% discourse,

DKLIVERED O.V

THANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 2 3. 1854,

BT THE

REV, SAMUEL L. TUTTLE,

PASTOR OF THK CIIL'RCH.

NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY M. W. DOD-D,

COKSBR SPRUCE ST. AXD CITY HALL SQUARE.

1855.

12991

Madison, JVovemher 25, 1854.
Rev. Samuel L. Tuttlb, —

Respected ajtd Esteemed Pastor : — The historical
discourse which you were kind enough to present to us on
Thanksgiving Day, the 23d instant, in relation to the rise and
progress of this church and congregation, excited in our minds
a very great degree of interest ; and we take this method of
saying to you, that the service which you have, in this way,
rendered to this community, and especially to ourselves and
our fellow-parishioners, is held by us all, in high appreciation.
Believing, too, that if the facts embodied in that discourse
could be given to the public, in a permanent form, many
important interests would be subserved, we take the liberty of
asking you — as we de most respectfully — to place a copy of it
at our disposal, with a view to its publication.

With sentiments of sincere respect

H. P. GREEN,
Wn.LIAM M. ilTCHMORE,
ROBERT ALBRIGHT,
JOHX B. iOLLER,
EVERETT H. GREEN,
JAMES ALBRIGHT,
LEWIS THOMPSON,
ALBERT CARTER,
JOHX KNAPP,
GEORGE E. SAYRE,
AMZA W. GENUXG,
CHARLES C. FORCE,
STEPHEN D. HUNTING,
LUTHER EDDY,
JOSEPH S. SAYRE,
HENRY KEEP,
EDWIN BURROUGHS,
SAMUEL D. BURNET,
GEORGE COLE,
DAVID H. ROBERTS,

and esteem.
Yours, &c.,

ABRAHAM BRITTIN,
ASHBEL CARTER,
WILLIAM BRITTIN,
SAMUEL ROBERTS, Jr.,
LEWIS M. BROWNING,
DA"^1D M. FORCE,
JONATHAN B. BRUEN,
IRA BLTiNTlT,
CALEB C. BURROUGHS,
GEORGE T. SAYRE,
AARON CARTER,
WILLIAM P. CONKLIN,
DEN^NISF. CROWELL,
Wil. JACKSON BRITTIN,
DA^ID L. MILLLER,
SMITH S. HOLLOWAY,
ALFRED BRITTIN,
ICHABOD BRUEN,
CHARLES ROSS,
JOHN JOHNSTON.

NOTE.

In yielding to the wishes of his respected and esteemed
parishioners, in reference to the publication of the following
" Historical Discourse," the Author begs leave to state, that, in
its original preparation, he had not the most remote conception
that any such use would ever be made of it 5 but that his simple
and sole object was, the gratification and encouragement of his
congregation, on the occasion of its first delivery. It was, at
that time, contained within the limits of an ordinary discourse.
Since its publication has been suggested, however, it has seemed
to him, that, by adding a few facts, and going somewhat more
into detail than he did at first, a service might be rendered, at
least to the people of his charge, by converting it into a small
book of reference for their use. This will account for the
greatly increased length of the discourse ; and also. for the fact,
that so many things have been introduced, which would not have
been suitable for the pulpit, and which were riot in it, on the
occasion when it was first presented.

The Author has no other object in giving up these researches
to his people's disposal, than to subserve their interests as a
society, and to preserve matters of history pertaining to the
pious and self-sacrificing efforts of their ancestors, which he
thinks ought not to be lost.

tsc0urse.

" Then Samuel took a stone, and set it' up between Mizpeli aud
Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath
the Lord helped us.'* — 1 Samuel vii. 12.

The occasion of this incident was a celebrated
victory, gained by the Israelites over their ene-
mies, the Philistines. The Israelites, by their
sins, having provoked the divine displeasure,
Samuel assembled their tribes at Mizpeh, about
eighteen miles northwest of Jerusalem, with a
view to their making confession of their sins, and
securing the divine forgiveness. The Philistines,
hearing of this great convocation, and supposing
that they were making preparations to give them
battle, went up against them with a very great
army, and encamped before Mizpeh. The Israelites,
having been taken by surprise, were alarmed, and
besought Samuel to cry unto the Lord for their de-

6 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

liverance., ''And Samuel cried unto the Lord, and
the Lord heard him ;" and when the Philistines
drew near to battle against Israel, "the Lord
thundered with a great thunder" upon the Philis-
tines and discomfited them. "And the men of
Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philis-
tines, and smote them until they came under
Beth Car."

In these circumstances it was that Samuel per-
formed the act recorded in the text. Deeply im-
pressed with the conviction that the victory thus
secured was from G-od, " he took a stone, and set
it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name
of it Ebenezer," or the stone of help, "saying,
'Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.' "

This act of Samuel is worthy of the Imitation
of all those who have experienced peculiar bless-
ings at the hand of God ; and I have thought it
not altogether inappropriate to our own circum-
stances as a Christian church and congregation ;
and for this reason I have selected it as a guide to
our thoughts on the present occasion. Having
sprung from an origin comparatively humble ;
having been obliged to contend with great difficul-
ties ; and having, by the blessing of G-od, attained

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 7

our present state of influence and general prosper-
ity ; it becomes us, as much as it became Israel,
to pause a little in our way, and, "setting up our
Ebenezer," or "stone of help," say, with devout
and heartfelt gratitude, "Hitherto hath the Lord
helped t^5."

A brief review of the history of this church and
congregation will show us the extent of our in-
debtedness to our divine Benefactor; and lead us,
it is to be hoped, to a more cordial and unreserved
consecration of ourselves to his service.

The section of country whidh we are inhabiting
was first settled in the year 1685 ; about twenty
years after the settlement of Elizabethtown and
Newark. The first settlers were principally from
the places just named ; though some of them are
known to have come here from the New Ensfland
States, Long Island, and England. Attracted by
the fine, open character of the country, but more
especially by the iron ore imbedded in our hills, a
few enterprising men brought their families over,
what was then called, " the great mountain of
Watchung," afterwards the " Newark mountain;"
and located themselves at different points in this
vicinity. Large tracts of land were purchased by

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON

many of them, of the old "New Jersey Proprie-
tors ;" and while some of them devoted themselves
to the clearing and cultivation of the soil, others
eno:a2;ed in the manufacture of iron.

At a very early period, a great deal of capital
and skill were employed in the business of making
iron : and for this purpose a considerable number
of forges* were constructed and put in operation
within the present limits of our county. This,
doubtless, contributed largely towards the original
settlement of this entire region.

Among the first settlers in this immediate vicin-
ity were Benjamin Carter ;t Jeremiah Grenung ;

* One of these forges stood on the site of the mills belonging
to Mr. Samuel Roberts at Green Village ; another near the grist-
mill in Chatham village ; another on the Whippany river ; another
in Troy ; another in '' Old Boouton ;" another at Rockaway ; and
others at Hibernia. Split-Rock and elsewhere. These establish-
ments gave to this region formerly the name of '* the Old Forges,"
by which it continued to be known for many years.

The ore that was used in these forges was carried from the
mines on the backs of horses ; and after it was manufactured into
iron, it was carried in the same way over the mountain to Eliza-
bethtown and Newark.

t This gentleman was the first owner of the land now occupied
by the village of Madison ; and his residence was on the corner by
the toll-gate, since owned by Capt. Mallaby. He built the first
grist-mill that was ever put up in this vicinity. Tliis stood a few
feet below the present site of Springer and Lehman's steam mill ;
the mill-dam being built across the valley, a few yards above

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 9

Josiah Broadwell ; Theophilas and Josiah Miller ;
Silas, Stephen and Josiah Hand ; Abraham and
David Cory ; Benjamin Ladner ; Lemuel Hedges ;
Zebedee and Moses Potter ; Aaron, James and
David Burnet ; Jonathan Thompson ; Horick Ben-
jamin ; Samuel Marsh ; John Muchmore ; John,
Samuel and Nathaniel Roberts ; Joseph Wingate ;
Daniel; Paul and Stephen Day ; Obadiah Lum ;
David Bruen ; Jabez Linsley ; Israel, Thomas and
David "Ward ; Nathaniel and Benjamin Bonnel ;
and others, whose descendants are living in our
midst. Some of these persons came here from
New England, and some from Long Island ; but
the great majority of them were from the vicinity
of Elizabethtown and Newark. They were, for the
most part, consequently, of Neio England origin'
The principal centre of these settlements, at
that time, and for many years subsequently, was
on the Whipponong river,* where the village of

that point, and flowing the lands lying north of the village to
considerable depth during the rainy season, it being entirely dry
duringthe summer. When this mill was abandoned, a horse mill
took its place.

* The Whipponong river received its name from a tribe o^
Indians — the Whipponongs, who formerly lived and ranged on its
bank?.

10 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Whippany now stands. Around this point, there
came, in the progress of years, to be collected a
very considerable population ; and in the year
1700, a township"^ was set off here, bearing the
name of the river above mentioned, and embracing
all that territory which is now included in the
townships of Morris, Chatham, and Hanover.
This new township was then within the limits of
the county of Hunterdon, t which at that time
embraced all the territory within the present
county of that name, and that, also, which is now
in the counties of Morris, Sussex, and Warren.

The first church ever organized in what is now
the county of Morris, was the old Presbyterian
church in Whippany, which was formed about
the year 1718. At that time, this entire region
was almost an uninterrupted wilderness. Indian
tribes were ranging over these hills and valleys,
and beasts of prey were roaming without molesta-

* The township of Whipponong changed its name to that of
Hanover, about the year 1740.

t The county of Morris was set off from the county of Hunter-
don by an act of the Assembly in the year 1738 ; and at that
time, and for several years afterwards, it embraced all the terri-
tory within its present limits, as well as that of the counties of
Sussex and Warren.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 11

tion through ahriost unbroken forests. There
were but few farms cleared and cjiltivated ; there
were but few dwellings erected ; the population
was very sparsely distributed over the territory,
and there were but few conveniences and priv-
ileges enjoyed. Morristown had not then begun
to be considered even a village. Having com-
menced only about ten years before this. time, it
was not until about sixty years afterwards that it
contained a population of two hundred and fifty.
Newark, which had been settled about forty years,
by persons from Connecticut, at that time con-
tained a population of less than three hundred ;
and Elizabethtown, which was then the centre of
trade for this part of New Jersey, was, compara-
tively, but an insignificant village. In Basking-
ridge, some Scotch Presbyterian families, who had
settled there, were worshipping in a log meeting-
house, which they had erected a year or two pre-
viously. In the village of Springfield, there were
but three dwelling-houses standing ; and the resi-
dents were considered as belonging to the congre-
gation in Elizabethtown ; whither, it is said, they
were accustomed to walk on the Sabbath, in order
to attend divine worship. Bloomfield, Orange, and

12 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Belleville, were small ontskirt settlements belong-
ing to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark.
The villages of Hanover, Parsippany, New Yer-
non, Boonton, and Chatham, were not yet in exist-
ence. There were no houses of worship of any
order, in either of the places which have just been
named ; nor in Morristown, Rockaway, Mend-
ham, G-reen Village, or this place ^ which, at
that time, and for many years subsequently, was
called Bottle Hill.* The only church that
existed in all this wide extent of country, was the
one referred to in Whippany. That church, which
was a plain wooden structure, covered on all sides

* "With respect to the origin of the name, "Bottle Hill," there
are various traditions. One is, that it was first called "Battle
Hill," from some great battle that was fought near the present
academy, by hostile tribes of Indians. Another is, that two
Indians, in quarrelling near the spring in that vicinity, broke a
bottle, from which circumstance it is thought by some to have
taken its name. Another, and the most plausible, as well as the
most ignoble one is, that a bottle suspended from a sign-post, at an
early period in the history of this place, designated the first
tavern that was ever kept here. That tavern was located on the
corner, subsequently the property of Mr. Ellis Cook, opposite the
academy. In corroboration of this theory, it is stated that
Major Luke Miller, who died in this place a few years since, at
the advanced age of ninety-three, stated that he remembered to
have seen the bottle suspended there, as above described, for sev-
eral years during the period of his youth.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 13

with shingles, and without spire or cnpola, stood
on the present burying-plot in that village, in front
of the residence of Mr. Calvin Howell, and adjoin-
ins: the homestead of Mr. Silas Tuttle. The first
pastor of that church was the Rev. Nathaniel
Hubbel,^ who was ordained and installed by the
Presbytery of Philadelphia, and who remained
there for about thirteen years. The second was
the Rev. John Nutman, who was settled in 1730,
and left in 1745, having been there for a period of
about fifteen years. The third was the Rev. Jacob
Grreen,t father of the late Dr. Ashbel Green, of

* At that time Mr. Hubbel preached both for the church in
Whippany, or, as it was then called, " East Hanover," and the Pres
by terian church in "Westfield. Both congregations were then very,
feeble, and they were obliged to resort to this method, in order
to avail themselves of the labors of a stated minister. The prob-
ability is, that Mr. Hubbel preached on alternate Sabbaths in
these two places.

t Rev. Mr. Green continued to preach in the old church at
Whippany until the year 1755, about eight years after the church
in Madison was organized ; when, by the advice of the Presbytery
of New York, with which the church was at that time connected,
the congregation built two houses of worship, one in Parsippany,
the other in Hanover Neck (the old church being entirely given
up), and Mr. Green continued to preach in both churches until
that part of the congregation at Parsippany called the Rev. James
Tuttle to become their pastor, when he confined his labors to
Hanover Neck until the time of his death, which occurred about
the year 1790.

14 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Philadelphia, who was settled in 1746, and con-
tinued the pastor of the church for the period of
forty-four years. To that place the inhabitants of
all this region repaired on the Sabbath day to
worship Grod ; many of them being obliged to
travel for this purpose six, eight, and, in some
instances, even ten miles.

In or about the year 1740, during the ministry
of the Rev. Mr. Nutman, a small and very feeble
church was organized and established in Morris-
town,* or, as it was then called, " West Hano-
ver," by members of the old Whippany parish,
residing in that vicinity. This was the First
Presbyterian church in that village, of which the

* That church was organized in the face of the most strenuous
opposition. The ground of the opposition was, the supposed
inability of the eastern portion of the old congregation to support
a pastor without the assistance of the western. The matter was
in agitation for several years ; the Presbytery was called together
to give their counsel in reference to it; and it is said that the
eastern part of the parish proposed to decide it by " the casting of
lots." The lot was cast, and it was decided that the proposed
society should not be organized. The inhabitants of Morristown,
or West Hanover, however, having, at the outset, declared their
unwillingness to have the matter determined in this way, at length
carried their point, and were organized into a church in the year
already mentioned, and received into connection with the old
Presbytery of New York. See -'Records of the Presbyterian
Church," pages 102, 108 and 143.

PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 15

Rev. Messrs. Jolines, Richards, Fisher, Barnes,
Kirtland, and others, have been pastors, and which
has grown to be one of the most able and important
churches in our land.

About sev^ years after the formation of the
church in Morristown, those who resided in the
southern part of the old Whippany congrega-
tion, finding it inconvenient to attend church at so
great a distance, and being dissatisfied with the
project, which was then in agitation, of erecting a
new meeting-house in Hanover Neck, in place of
the old one at Whippany, drew off from the parent
society, and organized the church and congrega-
tion with which we are now connected. This was
in or about the year 1747 ; and it appears to have
been done in opposition to the judgment and ad-
vice of the Presbytery of New York, with which
the Whippany society was at that time connected.
The Rev. Jacob Green was then the pastor of the
parent church, having been settled there in that
capacity about one year previously. This district
of country was at that time a part of the town-
ship of Hanover ; and for this reason the new
church in this place very properly assumed the
name of *' the Presbyterian Church of South Han-

16 PEESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

over,"^ which it retained for about seventy years.
The congregation, at the commencement, was
necessarily very feeble, the number of church
members was small, and there were but few in
this entire vicinity who were able to contribute
much to the maintenance of Christian ordinances.
For a year or two, the congregation worshipped in
barns and private houses ; and sometimes, when
the weather would admit of it, in the open air;
until, sometime in the year 1748, f the project was
proposed of erecting a house of worship. After a
great deal of consultation, and much persevering
and self-sacrificing effort on the part of the peo-
ple residing in this vicinity, a subscription was

* In the old records of the Presbyterian church, Hanover, the
Rev. Mr. Green speaks of the formation of this church in the fol-
lowing words. After stating that his settlement at Whippany
occurred in November, 1746, he adds : " The meeting-house on the
Whippany river was old and small 5 and there were, about that
time, proposals made for building a new one. But some families
in the south end of the town and neighboring parts, thinking they
should not be suited with the position of the meeting-house in
Hanover Neck, went off, contrary to the endeavors of the Presby-
tery, and erected a new meeting-house in the south end of the
town, which has been called South Hanover^

A similar statement, in the hand-writing of the Rev. Aaron
Condit, Mr. Green's successor, is also in the old records of the
church at Hanover.

t See Historical Collections of Now. T se , p 377.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 17

started ; and some time in the course of the year
1749, nearly two years after the organization of
the society, the church edifice was commenced.
The work advanced, however, but slowly ; and at
one time, on account of the want of means to pro-
ceed, it w^as actually arrested, until, by the prompt
and decided action of one of the original settlers ^
of this place, who said that '' if the congregation
would not complete the work, he would do it him-
self," it was resumed, and the building was at
length inclosed. It was then seated in a very
rude manner, with boards or slabs, and with a
plain pulpit ; and in this condition it appears to
have been occupied for a period of about fifteen
years, when the congregation appointed a com-
mittee to " superintend the finishing of the meet-
ing-house ;" and gave certain individuals, who are
named, permission to construct pews for their own
accommodation in different parts of the church,
next to the walls, both below and in the gallery.
This, accordingly, was effected during the year
following; and the church, consequently, may be
regarded as having been completed in the course
of the year 1765.

* Mr. Luke Carter, grandfather of Mr. Ashbel Carter.

18

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

The site selected for the meeting-house, was
the crown of the hill, on the south side of the
burying-ground, within about a hundred yards of
the deep cut through which the Morris and Essex
Railroad now passes. The main road through
the village at that time passed over the hill, upon
which the church was built, and immediately in
front of it, instead of through it, as it does now.

THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE.

The church, located on this beautiful eminence,
and, after so many years, at length completed as
above described, was a much smaller and plainer

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON". 19

edifice than the one in which we now worship.
Its dimensions were forty-eight feet by fifty, and
when it was regularly seated, it V\^as capable of
accommodating about four hundred and fifty per-
sons. It was an unpretending and almost square
wooden structure ; covered on all sides with shin-
gles, and without spire or cupola. It had a gal-
lery, extending around on three sides, and was
finished with large and very high square pews
next to the walls, entirely around the house, both
above and below, the body of the house being
occupied with single slips, which were construct-
ed with very high and perpendicular backs. The
lower part of the house was divided by three
aisles, which ran north and south ; and a very
plain, and rather high and small five-sided pulpit,
resting on a single pillar, and surmounted by a
somewhat elaborately fashioned sounding-board,
stood in the northeast end of the building. Un-
der the pulpit was a large, square pew, called the
" deacons' pew," in which the deacons of the
church, as well as the choristers, were accus-
tomed to sit. A single front door communicated
with the street, and another, on the southeastern
side, communicated with the burying-ground. A

20 PRESByTERIA.N CHURCH, MADISON.

staircase went up into the gallery on either side
of the main entrance ; over which and nearly up
to the ceiling were two very large square pews,
which, to persons below, had the appearance of a
second gallery, and which, to many who are still
living, are somewhat memorable, not only for the
names by which they were designated, but also
for the misdeeds of which they were sometimes
witnesses. A large, open, and level green plat
lay in front of the house, on which stood a ma-
jestic wild cherry-tree, and a number of gigantic
white oaks, which had been saved when the adja-
cent grounds were wrested from the dominion of
the primeval forest. In the rear of the house,
and on either side of it. were the unpretending
freestone monuments — then comparatively few in
number — of those who had already been '' gath-
ered to their fathers."

Such was the sanctuary which our fathers first
erected for the worship of G-od on this " beautiful
hill of Zion ;" and thither did they continue to
repair from Sabbath to Sabbath for nearly seventy
years, before any other place of worship was erect-
ed within the limits of this township ; the entire

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 21

church-going portion of our population assembling
there to record their vows before God.

For nearly three years after the organization
of the church, the congregation were unable to
avail themselves of the labors of a stated pastor;
and were obliged to look to the Presbytery of New
York and to other sources for occasional supplies.
Young men just licensed to preach the gospel,
ministers without charge, and sometimes the pas-
tors of neighboring churches, would spend a Sab-
bath with them, and break unto them the bread
of life ; ^' but they were obliged, not unfrequently,
during this early period of their history, to con-
duct divine worship themselves, without the assist-
ance of a minister ; the officers and leading mem-
bers of the church alternating, in reading a ser-
mon, and in exhortation and prayer.

Early in the year 17o0, the congregation hav-
ing heard the Rev. NehemiAh G-reenman*, a
young licentiate of the Presbytery of Suffolk, L. I.,

• In the Records of the Presbytery of Suffolk, for April 6. 1750,
there is the following minute : — " Rev. Nehemiah Greeuman was
dismissed to accept a call to the new society in South Hanover,
N. J." For this, and for the fact of Mr. Greenman's settlement
here, the author is indebted to the Rev. Richard Webster, of
Mauch Chunk, Pa.

22 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

they invited him to preach for them as a stated
supply. Mr. Grreenman was a native of Long
Island ; was licensed to preach by the Suffolk
Presbytery, October, 3, 1748 ; and was ordained
while here, by the Presbytery of New York.- He
continued to labor in this congregation, in the
capacity already stated, for nearly two years,
when he withdrew to engage in the same labors
elsewhere. From the " Records of the Presbyte-
rian Church," pages 248 and 260, we discover that
during the year 1753 and 1754, he preached in
several instances by appointment of the Synod of
New York, for the church in Hanover, Virginia ;
and he is known to have been subsequently the
pastor of the Presbyterian church in Pilesgrove —
now Pittsgrove — in this State, and to have lived to
a good old age.

The first regular pastor of this church was the
Rev. AzARiAH HoRTON. He was a native of
Southold, Long Island ; and he graduated at Yale
College, New Haven, in the year 1735. In the
year 1741, he was licensed to preach the gospel,
and ordained by the Presbytery of New York, as a
missionary among the Indians. In this capacity he
labored for a number of years, until the year 1750,

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 23

when he was invited to supply a Church on Long
Island, and became connected with the Presbytery
of Suffolk. There he continued for about a year,
when he was called to become the pastor of the
Church in this place. From the records of the old
Synod of New York, and, subsequently, of the
Synod of New York and Philadelphia, it appears
that he was generally present at the annual meet-
ings of those bodies, and that he was a prominent
and active member of them up to the very year
of his death. He was a member of the old Synod
of Philadelphia when the Presbytery of New York,
which was formerly connected with that body,
protested against the act of the Synod in exscinding
the Presbytery of New Brunswick ; he was one of
the ten ministers whose names appear on that pro-
test ; and he was one of the most prominent and
active of those who afterwards orsranized the
Synod of New York. He was. for many years,
also, a member of the " Commission of the
Synod,-' as it was called — a committee ap-
pointed from year to year, to attend to the Synod's
business durins^ the intervals between its resfular
annual meetings ; and he did much towards the
founding of the *' College of New Jersey," which,

24 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

it will be remembered, occurred in the year 1746,
about a year previous to the organization of this
church.

Mr. Horton was installed as the pastor of this
church in the year 1751 ; and after laboring in
this relation for a period of twenty-five years, he
was dismissed, at his own request, in the month
of November, 1776. About five months after his
dismission, he was seized with that terrible
scourge, the small-pox, and on the 27th of March,
1777, he died, at the house of his son, Foster
Horton, who was then residing and keeping a
store in Chatham village. The death of Mr.
Horton occurred one year after the commence-
ment of the Revolutionary War ; and he w^as
buried in our beautiful cemetery ; his grave, which
is covered with a freestone slab, standing on col-
umns of the same material, being immediately in
the rear of the old pulpit, in which he had so often
officiated as a minister of Jesus Christ.*"

While he was the pastor of this church, his sal-

* On Mr. Horton's monument, which is standing in the cemetery
in Madison, is the following inscription : — '* In memory of the Rev.
Azariah Horton, for 25 years pastor of this church. Died, March
27, 1777, aged G2 years." This would make his settlement here in
the early part of 1752, or the latter part of 1751.

PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 25

ary being small — never amounting to more than
seventy pounds, or one hundred and seventy-five
dollars, per annum, — his wife, Mrs. Eunice Hor-
ton, in order to make up for the deficiency in the
means for their support,* opened a store on the cor-
ner since occupied by Mr. Benjamin Birdsall, and
v/ithout encumberinsf him in the least desrree with
its management, she is said, not only to have
made out a handsome support for the family, but
also to have accumulated enous^h to enable her to
make the purchase of a valuable farm. She was
a very energetic and well-educated woman ; and
in every respect a worthy "helpmeet" of the
pioneer minister of this placet About a year and

* The building in which this store was kept, was afterwards
converted into a school-house ; and for this purpose it was used
for several years.

t The writer is indebted for many of the facts recorded
here, in relation to the early history of this place, to Mr. Azariah
Carter, who was born in the year 17C7, and who is still living in
this vicinity, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was
named from the first pastor of this church, and remembers him
well, having been about ten years of age at the time of his death.
He is also indebted to Deacon Ichabod Lruen, Mrs. Mary Richards,
Captain Luke Carter, and Mrs. Susan Vanderl)ilt, who arc still
living in this place 5 and all of whom are over eighty years of
age. He is under obligations, moreover, to Messrs. William and
Abraham Brittin, Dr. H. P. Green, Mrs. Rachel Sayre, Ashbel
Carter, and others.

2

26 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

a half after her husband's death, she also died,
while an inmate of her son's family in Chatham,
at the age of fifty-six years, and she was buried in
our cemetery, her name and that of her husband
being inscribed on the same monument.

Mr. Horton had two sons. One of these was
killed while serving his country in the Revolution-
ary War. The other, Mr. Foster Horton, lived, as
before stated, in Chatham village, and was for
several years afterwards a prominent and effi-
cient member of this parish. He left, also, several
daughters. One of these. Charlotte, married Mr.
Lewis Woodruff, of Elizabethtown ; and another,
Mary, married Mr. Jacob Morrell, a resident in
this place ; and here, about three years after her
father's decease, she died, at the age of thirty-
one. Her name, also, may be found on her father's
monument.

In the year 1765, about eleven years after Mr.
Horton's settlement here, the congregation pur-
chased a piece of property for a parsonage, and
put it in a state of repair for their minister. This
properly was the one now owned and occupied by
Dr. H. P. Green, in the vicinity of the Morris and
Essex Railroad depot. It contained originally

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 27

about fifty acres of land, with a house and barn,
which stood on the same site which is now occu-
pied by Dr. Grreen's improvements. The house was
a large double one, shingled on all sides, with the
front eaves high, while the back ones were so low
that they could easily be reached from the ground.
Here did Mr. Horton, the first pastor, reside for
nearly fourteen years, until his dismission, about
five months before his death ; and here did the
succeeding pastors of the church continue to re-
side until the year 1810 ; when the congregation
sold the property, for reasons which will hereafter
be stated ; having been in possession of it for a
period of nearly fifty years.

After Mr. Horton's death, which occurred, as
has been stated, just after the commencement of
the Revolutionary War, the congregation engaged,
for a short time, the services of the Rev. Aaron
Richards. Mr. Richards was likewise a gradu-
ate of Yale College ; he was licensed and ordained
by the Presbytery of New York, and was for many
years associated with his predecessor here, as a co-
presbyter in that body. At the time of his
preaching in this place, he was the regular pastor
of the Presbyterian church at Rahway, in this

28 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

State ; but on account of the dangers incident to
a residence on the great thoroughfare between
New York and Philadelphia, during the war, he
deemed it prudent to bring his family here for
a time ; and upon his arrival in this place the
congregation decided to invite him to supply the
pulpit until the way should be prepared for him
to return to his own charge. In this capacity he
served the society — residing in the old parsonage
— for about one and a half years, until the early
part of the year 1779, when he withdrew to labor
again among his own people.

During the winter of 1776-77, and the winter
ol 1779-80, it will be remembered, that the
American army established their winter quarters
in the vicinity of this place and Morristown.
Gen. Washington had his head-quarters in the lat-
ter place, in a dwelling which is still standing,
and which is owned and occupied by Henry A.
Ford, Esq. ; while a number of the leading officers
of the army had quarters assigned them in this
village. Col. Francis Barbour resided in a small
house, which was standing, at that time, on the
site now occupied by the dwelling of Mr. John B.
Miller ; and for one year he rented and occupied

PKESBYTERIAX CHURCH, MADISON. 29

the old parsonage. Col. Matthias Ogden was
quartered with Major Luke Miller ; and while
there, he rented a piece of property belonging to
the congregation, in the vicinity of the residence
of Deacon Jonathan Thompson, but now the home-
stead of Mr. Lathrop. Major Eaton took up his
abode with Mr. Jonathan Harris, in a dwelling
which is still standing, next to the residence of
the late Deacon Ephraim Sayre ; and Col. Marsh
resided in an old house, which was at that time
standing on the spot which has since been occu-
pied by the dwelling of Mrs. Eliza Cook. A part
of the army were at the same time encamped on
the property formerly owned by Mr. Vincent Bois-
aubin, but now owned and occupied by Mr. A. M.
Treadwell; and while they were thus situated, it
was very common for both officers and privates to
attend divine worship in our old sanctuary. There
are those still living among us who remember
seeing companies of soldiers in uniform, accom-
panied by their officers, entering that venerable
edifice, and, taking their places in the southeast
gallery, unite with our fathers in rendering adora-
tion and thanksgiving to the Most High. The
Rev. James Caldwell, the honored pastor of the

30 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON

First Presbyterian church, in Eiizabethtown, who
was afterwards most brutally assassinated by the
enemy, was acting as chaplain in the army, while
they were quartered in this vicinity ; and he is
known to have preached repeatedly in this place,
both in the church and in the house* of his warm
and intimate friend, Deacon Ephraim Say re ;
where he was a frequent and a most welcome
visitor.

During the same spring in which Mr. Richards
left — the Revolution then being at its height —
the church and congregation united in a call to the
Rev. Ebenezer Bradford. This gentleman was a
native of Canterbury, Ct. ; he graduated at the Col-
lege of New Jersey in 1773 ; and he was licensed
and ordained by the Presbytery of New York in
the year 1775. On the 13th of June of the same
year, he received ordination, and for three or four
years, subsequently, preached in the churches of
Chester and Succasunna ; until the early part of
the year 1779, when he was invited to become the
pastor of this church ; and while he was here offici-

* That house is still occupied by Mrs. Richards and Miss Rachel
Sayre, daughters of Deacon Ephraim Sayre, to whom the writer
is indebted for important facts contained in this history.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 81

ating in that capacity, he married a daughter of
the Rev. Jacob Grreen, of Hanover. During his
residence in this place, he occupied the old par-
sonage, and taught, at the same time, a very
flourishing and somewhat famous classical acade-
my,* which stood on the very spot now occupied
by our village depot. Most of the pupils in this
institution w^ere from other parts of the country ;
and a considerable number pursued their studies
here, preparatory to their entering college, who
afterwards distinguished themselves in the Chris-
tian ministry, or in the other learned professions.
The Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green was one of the teach-
ers in this institution.

Mr. Bradford continued to perform the double
duty of pastor and teacher in this place for a
period of about three years, when he resigned his
charge, and retired in the year 1782. While he
was the pastor of this church he, with Rev. Jacob
G-reen, of Hanover, Rev. Amzi Lewis, of Warwick,

* That ediflce was afterwards removed to Chatham village,
during the Revolutionary War, where it was occupied for a consid-
erable time by Mr. Shepard Kollock,the proprietor and editor of a
paper published in Elizabethtown, for the issuing of that paper ; it
being considered hazardous, as things then were, to perform the
work in the village, where it properly belonged.

82 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

N. Y., Rev. Joseph Grrover, of Parsippany, and a
few others, withdrew from the old Presbytery of
New York with which this church was at that
time connected, and formed what was called the
*' Presbytery of Morris County."* This ecclesias-
tical body originated in a predilection entertained
by the gentlemen above named, for the Congrega-
tional method of church government ; and it is
not unlikely that Mr. Bradford's tendency in that
direction was a leading cause of his short con-
tinuance here as the pastor of this church.

Upon leaving here he went, in 1781, to Bethel,
in the town of Danbury, Connecticut, where he
labored for a few years, and then removed to
Rowley, Massachusetts, where he continued to

* " The Presbytery of Morris County" appears to have been
formed in or about the year 17S0. In the minutes of the Synod
of New York and Philadelphia, for May, 1781, the Rev. Messrs.
Jacob Green, Joseph Grover, Amzi Lewis, and Ebenezer Bradford,
the originators of that body, are reported to have withdrawn from
the Presbytery of New York during the year preceding. The
movement never seems to have met with much favor at any
period of its history ; and for many years the Presbytery has been
entirely disbanded. The Morris County Education Society, which
was formerly connected with that body, is still in existence, hav-
ing its centre in Bloomfleld, in Essex County, where it is furnish-
ing means for the education of four or five young men per
annum, for the Gospel ministry. The writer has been, for several
years, one of the Board of Managers of that Society.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 33

preach until his death, which occurred in the
year 1801.

He was a very able preacher ; and it is said that
under one of his sermons on 1 Tim. 2 : 5, his
brother-in-law, the late Dr. Ashbel G-reen, of Phil-
adelphia, was converted to God. Mr. Bradford
left four sons, all of whom have distinguished
themselves in their various professions ; Dr. John
M. Bradford, of the Reformed Dutch Church, Al-
bany ; Rev. James Bradford, of Sheffield, Massa-
chusetts ; Hon. E. G-. Bradford, President Judge
of York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania ; and Moses
Bradford, Esq., of Wilmington, Delaware.

In the month of June of the following year — the
war yet being in progress — the Rev. Alexander
Miller was invited to become the pastor of this
church. This gentleman was a native of Scot-
land ; he graduated at the College of New Jersey
in the year 1764 ; was licensed by the Presbytery
of New York in 1768 ; was ordained by the same
body, as an evangelist, on the 5th day of June,
1770, and labored in this capacity for about two
years in the village of Schenectady, N. Y. He
was installed as the pastor of this Church on the
2d day of July, 1783, and after having labored in

34 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

this connection for a period of about four years, he
was dismissed on the 19th of June, 1787. From
the year 1785 to the year 1795 he officiated as a
Trustee of the College of New Jersey. After re-
signing his pastorate here, he removed to Hacken-
sack, in this State, where he took the charge of an
academy, and remained until the year 1796, when
he removed to the county of Columbia, N. Y., and
took the charge of a classical institution there.
In this position he remained from the year 1809
to the year 1819, a period of about ten years ; and
while residing in that section of the country, he
was a member of the Presbytery of Albany.*

For nearly three years after this, the church
seems to have been destitute of the services of a
stated pastor, and were obliged to look to the
'' Presbytery of New York," with which they were
connected, for occasional supplies. The Presby-
tery at that time was composed of the follow-
ing ministers, to wit : Rev. Drs. John Rogers,
Timothy Jones, Hugh Knox, and Alexander
McWhorter, and Rev. Messrs. Jedediah Chapman,

* The author is indebted for several of the facts here stated, re-
specting Messrs. Bradford and Miller, to the kindness of the Rev.
Richard Webster, of Mauch Chunk. Pa.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCK, MADISON. 35

John McDonald, Aaron Richards, Jonathan Elmer,
Abner Brush, Benjamin Woodruff, Azel Roe,
Nathan Kerr, John Close, Alexander Miller, Wil-
liam Woodhull, Jacob Van Arsdalen, William
Schenck, John Warford, John Joline, Andrew-
King, and James G-lassbrook ; and it is probable
that a considerable number of these gentlemen, if
not all of them, took their turns in supplying the
pulpit here while it was vacant. The ordinances
of the sanctuary, however, were regularly main-
tained, and the church began to recover gradually
from the disastrous effects of the war. The
period of which w^e are now speaking is memor-
able for one thinsf w^hich will never cease to excite
the regrets of this community ; and that is, the
utter loss of all the records of the Session of this
church, from the year 1790 back to the time of its
organization — a period of nearly fifty-five years.
All the transactions of that body during that
time, too^ether with the names of nearly all the
members of the church previous to the year just
mentioned, are irrecoverably gone ; and what is a
little remarkable, on the minutes of the parish
itself there is no record of any of its proceedings
from the 11th of October, 1786, to the 29th of

36 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MxiDISON.

September, 1789 ; a deficiency wliicli not only
can never be explained^ but wliicli can by no
means ever be supplied.

In the early periods of the church's history, it
may be interesting to know that there were no
choirs appointed to conduct the singing of the
sanctuary ; but that this part of divine service
was attended to by the whole congregation ; one
or more individuals being appointed annually at
the parish meeting, to " pitch the tune," as it
was termed, and lead them in this exercise. The
leader's place was in the deacons' pew, immediately
under the pulpit. When the psalm or hymn had
been given out, the leader arose in the presence of
the whole assembly, and started the tune, the
congregation failing in with him in one general
chorus. This practice was kept up in the church,
it is believed, until about the year l&OO, when
that of singing in connection with a choir, was
introduced.

In reference to the versions of psalms and
hymns which have been used here at different
periods in the church's history, it may be well to
state that for eight or nine years after the society
was formed, as a means of uniting those whose

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 37

views differed on this subject, the congregation
used the old Scotch version by Rouse, as well as
mat which was prepared, by Dr. "Watts. At that
time the churches generally through the country
were very much divided in reference to this
matter ; and in many instances it was deemed of
sufficient importance to call for the counsel and
ultimate adjudication of the Presbyteries and
higher bodies of the church.^ At times, it greatly
disturbed the peace of this congregation, until
Watts' version was adopted by common consent,
as already stated. This continued to be used in
the church until the year 1804, when the version
by Dr. Timothy Dwight, President of Yale
College, was introduced. This last continued in
use here until the year 1814, when the congrega-

* In 1763, the Synod of New York and Philadelphia decided one
of these references in the following manner : " Inasmiieh as Dr.
Watts' imitation of David's Psalms was approved by many mem-
bers of the Synod, although it has not been particularly examined
by all, the Synod have no objection to its use until the matter of
Psalmody be further considered ;" and in 1765, they decided
" that they look upon the inspired psalms in Scripture to be pro-
per matter to be sung in divine worship, according to their original
design, and the practice of the churches ; yet they will not forbid
those to use the imitation of them, whose judgment and inclina-
tion lead them to do so." — History of the Presbyterian Church,
pp. 407, 408.

38 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

tioii once more agreed to adopt the old version by
Dr. Watts ; which, in turn, was used by the con-
gregation until the year 1833, when the " Chris-
tian Psalmist," which we are now using, took its
place.

As a matter properly belonging to the annals
of the church, it may be proper to state, that in
providing for the support of their pastors, the
congregation for many years, stipulated, in addi-
tion to their regular salary, to furnish them with
all their necessary fuel. In order to provide this,
it was the practice of the parish to purchase wood
lots, and to appoint one or more days in each
year for the purpose of cutting and drawing the
minister's wood. On such occasions, the great
body of the congregation turned out with their axes
and their teams ; a generous supper was provided
by the ladies of the parish at the parsonage ; and
the year's supply of fuel was in this way piled up
in the minister's yard. It may serve to show us
the difference between the past and the present in
a single item, to state a well-authenticated fact,
that during the pastorate of one who was here at
the close of the last century, at " one of these
annual " frolics," ninety loads, or not far from

PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 39

seventy cords of wood, were deposited in the par-
sonage yard ; and that before the expiration of
the year the whole of it was consumed. This
practice of wood-getting was followed by the con-
gregation until about the year 1840, when it was
abandoned ; having been in vogue in this parish
for a period of nearly ninety years.

On the 29th of September, 1789, the congrega-
tion extended a call to the Rev. Asa Hillyer, to
become their pastor ; and in the early part of the
following year he was installed here to serve in
that capacity, by the Presbytery of New York ; the
Rev. Mr. Austin, of Elizabethtown, preaching the
installation sermon. The following gentlemen at
that time constituted the Session of this church,
to wit: Joseph "Wood, Ephraim Sayre, Moses
Allen, Jonathan Nicholas, Jacob Bonnel, Paul
Day, Jonathan Thompson, Stephen Day, and Enos
Ward. Mr. Hillyer was a native of New Eng-
land ; he graduated at Yale College in the year
1786 — three years previous to his being called to
this place ; and he was licensed and ordained by
the old Presbytery of Suffolk, Long Island, in the
spring of 1788. When he came here, he was yet

40 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

a young man, and this was his first place of
settlement. While he was the pastor of this
church, his labors were very greatly blessed ; the
number of church members was increased, and
the consfresfation came to assume a his^h rank
among the congregations of that day. This
amiable and worthy divine occupied the pulpit
here for a period of about tivelve years ; when, in
the summer of 1801, he was dismissed to become
the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in
Orange, in this State ; where he continued to
labor until his death, which occurred in the year
1840. The minute which the cono^res^ation have
placed upon their records in reference to Mr.
Hillyer's dismission, does honor both to themselves
and to him ; and furnishes a beautiful exempli-
fication of the spirit which ought to be exhibited
both by pastors and people, when in the prov-
idence of Grod they are called to separate. Mr.
Hillyer was elected a trustee of the College of
New Jersey in the year 1811 ; and this respon-
sible and honorable office he continued to hold
until the time of his death — a period of nearly
thirty years.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 41

The pastorate of Dr. Hillyer^^ is ever to be re-
membered by this people as the period when the
Tuesday evening prayer -meeting was established.
It was commenced somewhere about the year
1790, in the house of Deacon Ephraim Sayre,
where it- was kept up for a considerable time ; after
which it was removed to the old school-house, now
occupied by Chistian Wise, on the corner north-
v/est of the present academy ; and afterwards, to
the upper room of the present academy, where it
was maintained for more than forty years, until
the year 1851, when, upon the completion of the
lecture-room, it was removed there. That prayer-
meeting has been kept up now for nearly sixty-five
years, and has proved an incalculable blessing, in
every point of view, to this entire, community.

During the pastorate of Dr. Hillyer, also, and
for many years subsequently, it ought to be known
that Union-7neetings were frequently held between
this church and the churches of Morristown and
Hanover. These meetings were usually held at
private houses, either in Columbia, Monroe, or

* He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in the year
1812.

42 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Whippany, on some afternoon in the week ; they
were attended by the pastors of all these churches,
who generally alternated in preaching ; and they
were occasions of surpassing interest to the entire
surrounding community. At these meetings, the
Rev. Messrs. Jones, Richards, and Fisher, of
Morristown ; the Rev. Messrs. Grreen and Condit,
of Hanover ; and the Rev. Messrs. Bradford,
Richards, Miller, Hillyer, Perrine, and Bergen, of
this place, met in friendly concert, and strength-
ened each others' hands by these seasons of united
worship. The recollection of these scenes, now
for ever past, is full of interest to many of G-od's
people who are yet living.

About six months after the dismission of Dr.
Hillyer, on the 29th of December 1801, the con-
gregation met, and, with the Rev. Dr. Richards of
Morristown for their moderator, they united in a
call to the Rev. Matthew La Rue Perrine, to as-
sume the pastoral office among them. This call
was promptly accepted, and he entered imme-
diately upon his labors.

Mr. Perrine was a native of Freehold, Mon-
mouth county, N. J., the scene of one of the most
sanguinary battles of the American Revolution.

PEESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 43

While he was yet quite young, he resided in the
family of his uncle, Dr. Condit. at Newton, in this
State, and while there he began his studies prepar-
atory to entering college, and was hopefully con-
verted to Grod. Upon his uncle's removal to New
Brunswick, he accompanied him thither ; finished
his preparatory studies, and entered the college of
New Jersey, in the year 1794. After a three years'
course, he graduated at that institution in the
year 1797. His theological studies, it is believed,
were pursued in private, under the direction of his
pastor, the Rev. John Woodhull, D.D., of Freehold ;
and he was licensed to preach the gospel by the
Presbytery of New Brunswick, about the close of
the last century. He was a young man when he
came here, and this also was his first place of set-
tlement. He was a very ripe scholar, a sound
theologian, and an able preacher. He was justly
distinguished for the soundness of his judgment,
and his eminent piety ; and he was so characteris-
tically amiable, that he was commonly called,
where he was known, '* the beloved disciple."

Under his ministry there were large accessions
made to the church ; and the congregation grew

44 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON".

to become one of the most respectable and able in
this section of the country.

It was (luring the period of his residence here,
that the turnpike^ which is now the main avenue
through our village, was built ; and also that the
toivnship of Chatham ivas set off from the town-
ships of Morris and Hanover. The first of these
occurred in the year 1804, and the last in the
year 1806. It was while he was here, also — to wit,
in the year 1809 — that our present academy was
erected. This edifice was built by a joint-stock
company, by which it is still owned ; and at differ-
ent periods it has contained schools of a very high
order.

In the year 1804, soon after his settlement here,
the entire village of Madison consisted of, not to
exceed, twenty dwelling-houses; and all these
were standing on the old road. One of these stood
on the property formerly owned by Capt. Mallaby,
opposite the toll-gate ; another, where Deacon
Burroughs now lives ; another, where Mrs. Chloe
Samson resides; and another, at the foot of the hill
southeast of the church. Then came the church,
on the crown of the hill, and then, a small house on
the property now owned by Mr. Henry Keep ; then

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 45

came the parsonage, now occupied by Dr. Green ;
then, a small house with a store attached, on the
corner, until recently the residence of the late Mr.
Benjamin Birdsall, but then occupied by Mr. Jon-
athan Richards and Mr. Abraham Brittin ; then,
on the opposite side of the street, a small house,
where the residence of Mr. Charles Johnson now
stands. Then came the public house, now occu-
pied by Mr. Robert Albright; then, a small house
on the side hill, late the residence of Mrs. Eliza
Cook ; then, on the site of the present parsonage, a
house belonging to Mr. James Burnet ; then, on
the corner diagonally opposite, a house belonging
to Mr. Ellis Cook. Then came the house of Dea-
con Ephraim Say re, and next to him the residence
of Mr. Jonathan Harris. Further on came the
dwelling of Mr. Joseph Miller, now occupied by
Mr. David L. Miller ; on the opposite side of the
street, where Mr. John B. Miller now resides, was
an old house which was occupied by Deacon Joseph
"Wood ; and a little beyond that was the residence
of Major Luke Miller. The school-house^ stood

* The first school-house erected in Madison was on the Birdsall
corner. After that, one was built on the property afterwards
occupied by the Rev. Mr. Arms. That building was moved to the

46 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

on the corner now occupied by Christian Wise ; a
blacksmith-shop stood on the site of the present
academy ; and an old storehouse occupied the site
of our present lecture-room. Such was the village
of Madison soon after Mr. Perrine's settlement here,
about fifty years ago.

As has already been stated, Mr. Perrine's min-
istry in this place was a very successful one.
Under his supervision, the church grew very rap-
idly, and large numbers were hopefully con-
verted to Grod. While he was here, one very ex-
tensive revival of religion was enjoyed in the con-
gregation. It was preceded by prayer-meetings of
a deeply solemn and interesting character ; and
among these the most memorable are those which
were held previous to the hour of divine worship,
on Sabbath mornings, in the house opposite the
toll-gate, formerly the property of Capt. Mallaby.
Subsequently, '' a four days meeting," as it was
called, was appointed to be held in the church.
On the day fixed for the services to begin, a great
concourse of people assembled in and around the

corner, now occupied by Christian Wise, and is the building in
which he now resides. From that, the school was taken to the
academy in 1809.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 47

clinrch from all parts of the surrounding country. *"
The church being found too small to accommodate
the multitude assembled, arrangements were made
for holding the services in the valley immediately
in the rear of the church, and nearly in front of
our present house of \vorship. A large farm -wag-
on was placed by the brook, from which the min-
isters were to address the people ; while the mul-
titude ranged themselves on the slopes of the hills
on either side, to receive the gospel message from
their lips. The following ministers were present,
and assisted the pastor, Mr. Perrine, in these ser-
vices, to wit : llev. Dr. Finley, of Baskingridge ;
Rev. Amzi Armstrong, of Mendham ; Rev. Dr.
Richards, of Morristown ; Rev. Dr. Hillyer, of
Orange ; Rev. Barnabas King, then a young mis-
sionary at Rockaway ; Rev. Aaron Condit, of Han-
over ; Rev. Dr. M'Whorter, of Newark; Rev. Henry
Kollock, of Elizabethtown ; Rev. Dr. G-riffin,
of Newark, and others. '^ There were giants in
those days I" The services were kept up through

* The number of horses and carriages in attendance was so
great, that, as they were hitched to the fences on both sides of the
road, they extended from the old parsonage to the church, and to
an equal distance beyond it.

• 48 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

four entire days, morning and afternoon ; and in
a few instances, there was preaching at the same
hour both in the valley and in the church. The
ministers present took their turns in conducting
the services ; and the result was one of the most
extensive revivals of religion that has ever been
witnessed in this country. An eye-witness of the
solemn scene, in a letter to the author, speaks of it
in the following language: " It was in Madison

*

that I witnessed the largest religious concourse
that I ever witnessed anywhere. The ground
north of the old church was admirably fitted for
the occasion. It w^as a hollow, surrounded by
rising grounds on all sides. In the bottom were
placed wagons, from which the ministers held
forth the word of life to the earnestly listening
and solemn crowds, assembled from all parts of the
country. The preaching was, for the most part, in
the open air ; but I remember that on one after-
noon as many as could be accommodated, repaired
to the church to hear Dr. M'Whorter, of Newark,
while the balance remained in the hollow to hear
preaching there. The ministers of the old Jersey
Presbytery were accustomed, at that time, to hold
monthly meetings in their respective parishes, for

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 49

mutual improvement in matters pertaining to
their high calling. Around these meetings there
came by degrees to gather a great deal of interest;
the people in all that region began to sympathize
vvith their ministers, so that when the first week
in July, the time fixed for the meeting at Madison,
came, multitudes felt as if they must be there.
Notice was given of it for several weeks previously,
in the neighboring churches ; and I remember that
Mr. Armstrong, our pastor at Mendham, stated on
the Sabbath before, from his pulpit, that he in-
tended to be there, and that he hoped many of his
people would make their arrangements to go also.
I look back to that time with admiration and
wonder, at the manifestations of divine power
which were seen and felt at that time through all
that region. Many thousands, I believe, were con-
verted to Grod, a large number of whom have
already gone home to glory ; and it is interest-
ing, at least to myself., to know that my own relig-
ious seriousness began about that time."^

As the result of that work of grace, a very great
number of hopeful converts connected themselves

* Rev. Jacob Tuttle, of Jersey, Ohio—father of the author.

3

50 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

with neighboring churches ; and nearly ninety
were received into fellowship with this church,
upon profession of their faith in Christ ; and the
cause of religion received an impulse in this
whole surrounding region, which it is believed it
never has lost until this day. The time when
these remarkable services were held was in the
month of July, 1806.

The number of church members here when Mr.
Perrine was first settled over this church, was not
far from one hundred. In the year 1808, that
number was increased to but little short of two
hundred ; and when he resigned his charge here,
the number was two hundred and nine. This, it
will be remembered, was when this church was
still the only one within the limits of this town-
ship.

Mr. Perrine 's pastoral connection with this
church and congregation continued about nine and
a half years, until the August of 1811 ; when he
was dismissed at his own request, to take charge
of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church in New
York city. Previous to his entering upon his la-
bors in this new sphere, the congregation extend-
ed to him a very pressing invitation to return and

PRESBYTERIAX CHURCH, MADISON. 51

resume his pastorate in this place. This second
call was attended with many circumstances which
were honorable both to them and to him ; but, not
seeing his way clear to accept, he declined the in-
vitation, and entered upon his ministry in New
York. In this new position, he continued for about
ten years, until the year 1821, when he was called
to a professorship in the Theological Seminary at
Auburn, New York ; where, after a period of about
fifteen years of distinguished usefulness in train-
ing up young men for the gospel ministry, he de-
parted this life on the 11th of February, 1836,
sincerely beloved and lamented by all who knew
him. Mr. Perrine never had any children of his
own ; but he adopted and educated some six or
eight of his nephews and other relatives, some of
whom have already brought distinction both upon
themselves and upon him. Among these is the
Rev. Matthew La Rue Perrine Thompson, D. D.,
formerly of Philadelphia, but now of Buffalo, New
York.

At the commencement of Mr. Perrine 's ministry
in Madison, he resided in the old parsonage, of
which we have already spoken ; but having subse-
quently erected a dwelling for himself — the one

62 PEESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

now occupied by Mr. Beaupland — lie made this his
residence until his removal to New York ; and it
was while he was occupying his own house, that
the congregation disposed of their parsonage ; the
amount for which it was sold being 82,350. This
occurred in the year 1810 ; and from that time
until the spring of 1854 — a period of about forty-
four years — the parish was destitute of a parsonage
for the accommodation of their minister.

About the commencement of the last war with
G-reat Britain, to wit, on the 19th of October,
1812, the church and congregation united in a call
to the Rev. John G. Bergen, to become their pas-
tor. This call he accepted, and entered immedi-
ately upon his labors. Mr. Bergen graduated at
the College of New Jersey, in the year 1808 ; and
he served as a tutor in that Institution from 1810
to 1812, a period of about two years. He was
ordained and installed by the Presbytery of Jersey,
with which this church w^as at that time con-
nected ; and from the tutorship in Princeton he
came directly here to assume, for the first time, the
responsibilities of a pastor. He purchased the res-
idence of his predecessor, the Rev. Mr. Perrine ;

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 53

and there he continued to reside during his entire
ministry in this place.

At the time of his settlement here, the eldership
of the church consisted of the following gentle-
men, to wit : Messrs. Ephraim Sayre, Enos Ward,
Israel Lum, Benjamin Thompson, Samuel Much-
more, Jacob Bonnel, William Thompson, Aaron
Burnet, Jonathan Thompson, and Stephen Day.
Soon after Mr. Bergen came to this place, the con-
gregation purchased a valuable lot of wood-land in
the " Grreat Swamp" in the vicinity of Gfreen Vil-
lage, for the use of the minister. This property
contained about twenty acres, and cost the society
the sum of $444 87. About seven years subse-
quently, the wood having been taken from it, the
society again disposed of it.

Five years after this, to wit, in the year 1817,
the name of the congregation was changed by an
act of the Legislature, from "The Presbyterian
Church of South Hanover," which it had borne for
about seventy years, to " The First Presbyterian
Church of the township of Chatham," by which it
continued to be designated for nearly thirty years
following, until January, 1846, when it was again

54 PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

changed by the Legislature, to " The Presbyterian
Church of Madison," which name it still bears.

In the early periods of the church's history, the
religious education of the rising generation was
chiefly of a domestic character. It was quite com-
mon for the pastors of the churches to visit the
schools in their respective neighborhoods, and to
catechize the children as frequently as practicable.
Parents, however, took the principal direction of this
important matter. The Shorter Catechism, com-
piled by the Westminster Assembly, was placed
in the hands of the children, and on each returning
Sabbath, a season was set apart for the recitation
of that invaluable formulary of Christian doctrine.
The Scriptures were likewise read, and devotional
hymns sung ; and in this way the young were at
that time trained up ''in the nurture and admoni-
tion of the Lord." And this continued to be the
case within the limits of this consfre£:ation until
the year 1817, when the first Sabbath-school was
instituted in this place. The leading agent in the
formation of the Sabbath-school was Mr. William
Thompson, at that time an elder in this church,
but now a resident in the village of Jersey, Ohio.
This gentleman had become deeply interested in

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISOX. 55

Sabbath-schools from the perusal of a tract on
that subject ; and in order to awaken a similar
interest in the minds of others, he read the tract
in the prayer-meeting which was at that time held
on Sabbath afternoon, in the upper room of the
Academy. This had the desired effect. The sub-
ject was talked about for a week or two, when
Mr. Thompson said to some of his friends, that if
they would unite with him, they would at once
make the effort to establish a Sabbath-school here.
Persons were not wanting, to embark with him
upon this new method of instructing the young ;
and, as a consequence, the work was immediately
begun. Mr. Thompson was appointed the first
superintendent; and the first teachers were Amelia
Bruen, Julia Thompson, Lucinda Bruen, Lillys
Cook, Priscilla Sayre, and Nancy Cook.

At first this School was kept open only during
the summer months ; simply for the reason that it
was supposed to be a thing utterly impracticable
to maintain it during the winter. In the year
1834, however, the experiment was tried of keep-
ing it up during the winter ; and from that time
to the present it has been maintained through the
entire year. The school was kept for nearly

56 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

eighteen years in the upper room of the academy,
where it was first opened ; and at one time, over a
hundred scholars regularly met for religious in-
struction in that place ; and it was not until about
the year 1840, that it was removed to the gallery
of the church, v/here it has since been kept.

This interesting institution has been maintained
with commendable fidelity, and with various suc-
cess, until the present time ; and it has unques-
tionably proved an incalculable blessing to this
church, as well as to this entire community. The
great majority of those who have been members of
the school have been hopefully converted to Grod,
and an influence has in this way been set on foot,
the full extent of which can never be realized
until the revelations of the judgment-day.

The December of 1819 is memorable in the an-
nals of this congregation as the time when, by a
formal and well-considered vote of the parish,
the first stove was introduced into our sanctuary.
The committee appointed to look after this matter
consisted of Messrs. Nathaniel E-oberts, Charles
Carter, Jacob Bonnel, and Benjamin Thompson.
For nearly seventy years previous to this time,
our ancestors worshipped without seeming to have

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 67

had the most remote conception of so obvious a
source of comfort in the house of Grod. They rode,
in many instances for several miles, to the sanc-
tuary ; attended two services, with an intermission
of an hour between them, and rode to their homes
again, without even "the smell of fire having
passed upon them !"

During the ministry of Mr. Bergen here, there
were very considerable accessions made to the
church ; and the congregation became so large
that soon after he commenced his labors here, the
erection of a new and more spacious house of wor-
ship began to be seriously talked about. Four
revivals of religion, of greater or less extent, were
enjoyed ; and in the year 1822 especially, one
was witnessed which will ever be held in grateful
remembrance by this people. As the result of this
work of grace, not far from ninety persons con-
nected themselves with this church, upon a profes-
sion of their faith in Christ. At the close of the
year just mentioned, the church enrolled more
members than it ever had done before, or ever has
done since. The whole number at that time in
full communion was three hundred and fifty.

The matter of enlarging the old house of wor-
3*

58 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

ship, or of erecting a new one, had been seriously
talked about by the congregation as early as the
year !1808, when a committee of fifteen was ap-
pointed to examine the old church and report
''what repairs were necessary, and whether a new
church was needed, and if so, where it should be
located." The subject continued to be matt'ir of
conversation and discussion at the parish meetings
and in private circles, from year to year, until the
year 1822, when it was at length brought to an
issue. A neiv church was determined upon,
chiefly for the reason that the old one was too
small to accommodate the congregation ; and on
the 4th of February, 1823, matters had progressed
so far, that the parish was called together to de-
liberate and agree upon a site for it. It will be
borne in mind that this was still the only parish
within the limits of this township ; and when the
question as to the location of the new edifice came
up, there was naturally not a little difference of
judgment among the people. Those who resided
in and about Chatham village, wanted it located
on the poiat of the hill opposite the residence of
Mr. Alexander Bruen ; whereas those who resided
in this village, as well as those who lived west and

phesbyterian church, madisox. 59

south of the old meeting-house, greatly preferred
that it should be located somewhere in the vicinity
of our present lecture-room. The territory em-
, braced in the congregation was surveyed, and its
geographical centre was found to be only a few
rods from the spot where the lecture-room now
stands. This, however, did not change the deter-
minations of the south-eastern section of the con-
gregation. It was then proposed that the Hon.
Theodore Frelinghuysen, and the Hon. Joseph C.
Hornblower, of Newark, be authorized to appoint
at their discretion, five individuals "whose business
it should be to visit the parish, inspect its bound-
aries, view the different sites named, take into view
all previous proceedings had in relation to the
building of a new church, and fix upon that site
which, in their opinion, should appear to be most
eligible;" ''and their decision" it was recom-
mended, '' should conclude the whole matter, and
receive the concurrence of all parties." This pro-
posal, however, was not accepted ; and at length,
so strenuous were our friends in Chatham, in their
opposition to the site fixed upon by this portion
of the parish, that the latter agreed to compromise

60 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

the matter, and locate the new edifice where we
are now assembled.

This decision was arrived at on the 4th day of
February, 1823. A very large number of the
active members of the parish convened in the old
meeting-house on that day ; the trustees and
others having this matter in charge, reported that
they had agreed to recommend the site above
referred to, which was described as '^ the ground
lying between the houses of Alexander M. Miller
and Daniel Burnet ;" the subject was discussed at
great length, both parties having ample oppor-
tunity afforded them for the expression of their
views ; and upon the vote being taken, it was
found that a very large majority were in favor of
the place where the church now stands. Against
this decision a protest was presented, signed by
upwards of forty individuals residing in the
vicinity of Chatham village ; and this, the con-
gregation consented to have recorded upon their
book of minutes. Notwithstandinof all that had
occurred, it was hoped, not without reason, that
the parties would yet be brought to harmonize,
with cordiality, in this decision. The reverse,

PRESBYTEKIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 61

however, was the fact. It soon became apparent
that the attempted compromise had effected
nothing. On the 20th of October, 1823, the
Chatham branch of the congregation withdrew,
and organized a new church in that village,
placing themselves under the care of the Presby-
tery of Jersey. This was the origin of the Pres-
byterian church in Chatham Village, of which
the Rev. Asa Lyman was, for about four years,
the stated supply ; and of which the Rev. Joseph
M. Ogden has been the pastor since the 23d of
June, 1828, — a period of about twenty-six and a
half years ; and this, too, is the reason why the
sanctuary in which we are now assembled was
located, as it is, so far from the centre of our own
village. Its location here is a substantial and
impressive evidence of the readiness of this people,
to yield up the convictions of their judgment, as
well as their decided preferences, for the sake of
peace. Long may this continue to be the real
character of this people !

Having thus decided upon a site, the congrega-
tion now resolved to proceed at once to the erec-
tion of the now church. Messrs. William Brittin,
Ichabod Bruen, Lewis Carter, and William

62 PRESBYTEKIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Thompson, were appointed a committee to visit
churches in the vicinity, and to decide upon a
plan. This preliminary work having been per-
formed, the Society appointed a building com-
mittee, with instructions to proceed, with all
proper despatch, to the execution of the work.
That committee consisted of the following indi-
viduals, to wit : William Brittin, John Sturges,
Archibald Sayre, Luke Miller, Lewis Carter,
John Roberts, and Ichabod Bruen, who were
authorized to fill any vacancies which might occur
in their number, and to superintend the work
until its completion. This committee subsequent-
ly appointed William Brittin and William Thomp-
son, who were at that time members of the
board of trustees, a sub-committee to take the
special oversight of the work as it advanced, to
provide the materials, and to employ and pay the
workmen. The master carpenters selected were
Messrs. Ichabod Bruen and Lewis Carter ; and
the head mason appointed was John Sturges, of
Grreen Village. Jn the spring of 1824, the foun-
dation was laid ; and in the spring of 1825, just
one year after, the house was completed, and the
keys handed over to the president of the Board of

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 63

Trustees. The bell, whose sweet tones have so
often summoned the people of Grod to the house of
prayer, weighs about seven hundred pounds ;
was purchased of Mr. Ephraim Force, of New
York, at a cost of about six hundred and forty-
five dollars ; and was lifted to its place early in
April of the year just mentioned ; and now, the
church and congregation are ready to dedicate this
new edifice to the worship of Grod.

Many were the prayers which were put up by
devout hearts in all this region, while the work
was in progress. Many were the efforts which
were put forth, and many the anxieties experi-
enced, before the work was completed. Many were
the tears of joy that were shed, when, at length,
the last stone was lifted to its place, amidst shout-
ings of " grace, grace unto it !" And now let us
look in upon the congregation, as they have con-
vened to en2fao:e in the dedication services. It
was on the 18th day of May, 1825. Sad memo-
ries crowded upon their minds, as they left the
sanctuary in which their fathers had worshipped
for so many years before ; and happy thoughts, at
the same time, possessed them, as they went up,
for the first time, to offer their worship in this

64 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

new house of prayer. A great company of per-
sons, of all ages and conditions, were seen wending
their way to this new *' hill of Zion " on that
glad and beautiful spring morning. The house
was crowded to its utmost capacity, both above
and below. A common impulse had brought the
multitude together, and common sentiments of
thanksgiving and praise arose in every heart.
Here and there sat the fathers and pillars of the
church, with gratitude and joy engraven on every
lineament of their countenances. Scattered about
in the assembly, too, were those who had borne
the chief responsibility in the erection of the new
edifice ; and they, too, were happy on that day.
There, too, were the young, with bounding hearts
and glad faces, unfurrowed as yet by care, and
unused as yet to the disappointments and trials
of life. At the head of the choir sat their leader,
Lewis Carter, and around him were gathered a
group of singers, chiefly in the morning of life,
awaiting the signal of their conductor, to give
utterance to the joy that glowed in their hearts.
Common sympathies and common emotions per-
vaded the whole assembly.

And now the hour of service has arrived. The

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

pastor, Rev. Mr. Bergen, introduced the solemni-
ties of the occasion. The blessing of God was
invoked upon entering into this new and beauti-
ful sanctuary. They united in singing a song of
thanksgiving. Prayer then was offered, in which
the edifice, with all that appertained to it, was
solemnly set apart to the worship of Almighty
Grod. A portion of Scripture appropriate to the
occasion was read. Asrain thev united in the
song of gratitude and praise. The pastor then
preached a discourse, full of good sense and piety,
on the words, " Enter into his courts with thanks-
giving, and into his gates with praise." Prayer
was again offered ; and again was the new edifice
consecrated to Grod. Again they sang in joyful
concert :

" Far as thy name is known,

The world declares thy praise ;
Thy saints, O Lord, before thy throne,

Their songs of honor raise.
Let strangers walk around

The city where we dwell.
Compass and view the holy ground.

And mark the building well," &c.*

Then the benediction was pronounced, and the
* Psalm 48. second part, S. M.

66

PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

assembly retired to their homes, amidst mutual
congratulations and thanksgivings, to bless Grod for
what their eyes had seen, and their ears had heard,
on that day.

hoE^^^^S^

THE NEW CHURCH,

The dimensions of the church are fifty-five feet
by seventy-five. It is constructed of brick, its
side walls being twenty-four, and its end walls
twenty inches, thick. It has a crallerv extending
around three sides ; is neatly carpeted and other-
wise furnished ; contains an excellent organ, and
all the other arrangements of a well-appointed

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 67

sanctuary, and is capable of seating comfortably
about nine hundred persons.

Such was the origin of the substantial and
beautiful sanctuary in which we are stated wor-
shippers. It has now been standing nearly thirty
years ; and it has already been a witness of several
precious" revivals — of many most delightful com-
munion seasons ; and to a great multitude, both
here and elsewhere, it is the centre of many of the
most tender and delightful associations. It stands
to-day a monument of the perseverance and self-
sacrificing zeal of our fathers, as well as of their
good taste and their piety ; and here may it stand
long to be a source of the choicest blessings to
this entire community, both in this world and in
that which is to come.

Mr. Bergen continued to officiate as the pastor
of this church for about three years after the new
sanctuary was opened for divine worship, and he
appears to have been a very successful and useful
pastor here, until the August of 1S28, when, at
his own request, he was dismissed ; having been
in this relation for a period of nearly sixteen years.
From this place he soon after removed to the

68 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

West, where lie is still living, in the vicinity of
Springfield, Illinois.

After Mr. Bergen had retired, the congregation
appear to have been without the services of a
regular pastor for nearly two years. During this
time the Rev. Daniel Beers was called here by a
vote of fifty-two to forty -two ; and after preaching
about six months, and finding but little prospect
of a harmonious settlement here, he was never
installed.

For a considerable time after this, the congre-
gation were unable to agree upon any one whom
they should call to become their pastor, until the
month of October, 1830, when they extended a
call to the Rev. Alexander Gr. Frazer. This
call he accepted, and entered at once upon his
labors, his place of residence, while here, being
the house since occupied by Mr. Sherrill, near
the railroad bridge. Mr. Frazer was a native of
Scotland, and received his education in that
country. Previous to his coming to this place, he
labored for several years as the pastor of the Pres-
byterian church in Westfield, in this State, where
his efforts to build up the Redeemer's kingdom
appear to have been considerably blessed. He

PRESEYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 69

continued the pastor of this church for about one
and a half years, until February, 1832, when he
resigned his charge and withdrew.

It was about this time that our village received
its present appropriate and beautiful name. Being
dissatisfied with the name of '' Bottle HiW which
it had borne for more than a hundred years previ-
ously, and having become earnest and active
friends of the temperance reformation, the inhab-
itants of the village met together, and unani-
mously resolved to drop this odious appellation,
and substitute for it the name of Madison. This
was the name that had been given to the academy
more than twenty years before ; and, as it will
readily suggest itself to all, it was given both to
that edifice, and subsequently to the village, in
honor of the fourth President of the United
States.

The pulpit was vacant for about nine months
after Mr. Frazer's dismission, until the autumn
of 1832, when the church and congregation in-
vited the Rev. Clifford S. Arms to become their
pastor. Mr. Arms was born in Sunderland, Mass.,
on the banks of the Connecticut river, on the
4th of June, 1796. The principal portion of

70 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

his early life was spent in Canaan, Columbia
county, New York ; and there it was that in the
year 1817, at the age of twenty-one, he was hope-
fully converted to Grod, and made a public profes-
sion of religion. His preparatory studies were
pursued under the care of Mr. Moses Hallock,
father of the Rev. William A. Hallock, of the
American Tract Society. In the fall of 1820 he
became a member of the Freshman class in Wil-
liam's College, where he remained but one year.
He then entered Union College at Schenectady,
New York, where, after three years' study, he grad-
uated in the year 1824. In the autumn of the
same year, he entered the Theological Seminary
at Princeton in this State, and after a three years'
course, graduated in the month of September,
1827.

He was licensed to preach the G-ospeJ one year
previous to his leaving the seminary ; and when
he had completed his studies in that institution,
he labored four or five months as a missionary in
' The Pines" of this State, under the Ladies'
Missionary Society of Princeton. In the fall of
1827, he assumed the charge of a small church in
Middletown Point, Monmouth county, N. J., and .

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 71

while he was there, he received ordination as an
evangelist, from the same Presbytery that gave
him license. The relation which he sustained to
that church was that of stated supply ; and while
connected in this way with the church, his labors
appear to have been signally blessed to its enlarge-
ment and permanent establishment.

After laboring in that field for a period of about
five years, he received a call to become the pastor
of this church at the time above stated ; and in
the month of October of that year (1832) he re-
moved his family to this place, and was regularly
inducted into the pastoral office here, by the Pres-
bytery of Elizabethtown, the Rev. David Magie,
D. D., and others, taking part in the services.

While here, he resided for a short time in the
house of the widow Cook, opposite the academy ;
then in the house now occupied by Mr. Henry
Keep ; and then in a house belonging to the family
of the late Archibald Sayre, in the vicinity of the
Catholic church. This last was his principal
residence while the pastor of this church.

The Session of the church at that time was
composed of Messrs. William Crowell, Ichabod
Bruen, Lewis Thompson, Charles Carter, and Zo-

72 PRESBYTEKIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

phar Freeman ; and during his ministry here,
Messrs. Ira Burnet, Ashbel Carter, and William
P. Conklin were added to that body.

It was during Mr. Arms' pastorate here, that
the Morris and Essex Railroad was constructed
through this village. The right of way along the
southern border of the burying-ground, and imme-
diately in front of the site of the old meeting-
house, was granted to the company by the congre-
gation in the month of January, 1836 ; and the
road was completed, and cars were passed over it
for the first time, as far as this place, in the month
of October of the year following. The occasion of
its completion was one of great interest to this
community : and its construction has proved, in
every point of view, an incalculable benefit to this
entire surrounding region.

In the year 1838, all access to the burying-
ground having been cut off" by the building of the
railroad, as just stated, the present road to it was
opened from the turnpike ; the land for this object
having been obtained of Mr. Henry Keep.

In the course of the same year, the Roman
Catholic church in this place was erected. This
was done by the descendants of a wealthy French

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. - 73

gentleman, who emigrated to this place from the
Island of Gruadaloupe in the latter part of the
last century. This gentleman, whose name was
Mr. Vincent Boisaubin, resided on the property
now occupied by Mr. A. M. Treadwell, and was
very highly esteemed and respected by this entire
community. For many years previous to the
erection of the Catholic church here, both he and
his family owned seats and were frequent wor-
shippers in our own sanctuary ; and for this rea-
son, these facts have been regarded as proper mat-
ters to be recorded in the Annals of this society.

In the year 1842, a number of gentlemen be-
longing to the parish, united together and pur-
chased the organ that is now standing in our sanc-
tuary. This instrument was constructed by
Messrs. Charles and Davis Marsh, of Union Hill in
this township ; and cost the sum of four hundred
dollars.

On the 17th of October 1843, this church and
congregation were transferred from the "Presby-
tery of Elizabethtown" — with which body they
had previously been connected from the time of its
formation — to the " Presbytery of Newark," with

which they arc connected at the present time.

4

74 PEESBYTERIAN CHUUCH, MADISON.

As it respects the ecclesiastical connections
which this church has sustained from the period
of its organization, it may be interesting at this
point to state, that its first connection was with
the old Presbytery of New York. That body, at
or about the time of the formation of this church,
was composed of the following ministers, to wit :
the Rev. Messrs. Jizariah Horton (pastor of this
church), John Pierson, Ebenezer Pemberton, Simon
Horton, Aaron Burr, James Davenport, David
Bostwick, Jacob Green, Caleb Smith, John
Brainerd, Elihu Spencer, Daniel Thane, Enos
Ayres, John Moffet, Chauncy Graham, Timothy
Syms, John Grant, Timothy Jones, Aaron
Richards (afterwards stated supply in this place),
Alexander Cummins, and Jonathan Elmore.

In this connection the church was associated
first with the " Synod of Philadelphia," then with
the "Synod of New York," until the year 1758,
when these two Synods having become united
under the name of the '' Synod of New York and
Philadelphia," it became connected with that
body, which at that time embraced all the Pres-
byterian churches and ministers in this country.
In the year 1780, a few clergymen in this vicinity,

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 75

having a strong predilection for the Congregational
method of church government, withdrew from the
Presbytery of New York, and formed a new Pres-
bytery^which was called the " Morris County Pres-
bytery." The father and founder of this body
was the Rev. Jacob Green, of Hanover ; and asso-
ciated with him were the Rev. Amzi Lewis, of
Warwick, N. Y. ; the Rev. Joseph G-rover, of Par-
sippany ; the Rev. Ebenezer Bradford, of this
place, and others.

Mr. Bradford, who was then the pastor of this
church, it is believed, made a strong effort to carry
the church over with him to that body ; and the
influence of several neighboring pastors, as well as
the example of several churches in the vicinity,
tended very strongly in that direction. But, not-
withstanding all this, the church adhered to its
original connection with the Presbytery of New
York, until the formation of the old Presbytery of
Jersey,^ which occurred on the fourteenth of No-

* The Presbytery of Jersey, which was set off from the old Pres-
bytery of New York on the I4th of November 1809, comprised all
the ministers and churches in this State, which were formerly con-
hected with the latter body, as well as those in the city of New
York and on the east bank of the Hudson river generally ; and ita
first regular meeting was held at Morristown, on the 24th of April,

76 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

vember, 1809, when it was regularly set off by the
Synod with that body. In this new connection it
then stood, until the Presbytery of Jersey was di-
vided into the Presbyteries of Newark and Eliza-
bethtown,^ which occurred in the autumn of 1824,
when it was regularly set off with the body last
named ; and with that it continued to be ecclesias-
tically connected until the 17th of October, 1843,
as has already been stated, when it withdrew and
united itself with the Presbytery of Newark, with
w^hich body it now stands. The reason of this
movement, it may be proper to state, was not that
the church had experienced any change in relation
to their doctrinal views, or their views respecting

ISIO ; the Rev. Asa Hillyer, D.D., of Orange, being its first
moderator.

* " In the autumn of 1824, the Presbytery of Jersey, which had
existed under that name fifteen years, was divided by the Synod
of New Jersey, at its own request, into two Presbyteries — the Pres-
bytery of Newark and the Presbytery of Elizabethtown, of which
the former held its first meeting at Jersey City, November 2, 1824.
The property belonging to the old Presbytery, consisting of books,
money for purposes of education, &c., was equally divided by a
committee, appointed for that purpose. The last two volumes of
the records were assigned to the Presbytery of Elizabethtown, and
the preceding volumes, including, besides those of the old Presby-
tery of New York, the first three years of the Presbytery of Jer-
sey, and running back to the year 1775, to that of Newark." — Dr.
Stearti's First Church, Newark, p. 299.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON". 77

church polity ; but simply and solely, because its
pastor and some of its . leading members sympa-
thized with that part of the Presbyterian church
which they believed to have been aggrieved and
injured in the great schism which occurred in
that body in the year 1838. And it is worthy of
notice, and not a little singular, that in leaving
the Presbytery of Elizabethtown for that of New-
ark, this church has, in point of fact, simply gone
from one branch of the old Presbytery of Jersey^
to the other ; and that, thus, the time-honored
succession in which it has stood from the first, is
still unbroken. To the members of the church
and congregation it must consequently be matter
of great satisfaction, to be assured, that from its
very origin to the present time, it has been truly
and thoroughly Presbyterian, in all its affinities
and connections. It is not improbable that the
attachment of its early members to Presbyterian-
ism had not a little to do with their withdrawal
from the old church at Whippany, then under the
pastoral care of the Rev. Jacob G-reen, and their
organizing a new church in this place ; nor is it
without reason that the opinion is harbored, that
this same love of the principles and polity of the

78 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Presbyterian cliurcli was the real secret of Mr.
Bradford's short ministry here.

The year 1844 is worthy of a place in this his-
torical sketch, as the year when the Methodist
Episcopal Church in this village was erected, and
consecrated to the worship of (xod. Persons of this
persuasion had for a few years previously kept up
occasional religious services in the upper room of
the academy, at East Madison, or, as it was for-
merly called, " G-enung Town." Subsequently,
they met in a large room connected with the
umbrella manufactory of Mr. Henry Keep, in this
village, until the year above mentioned, when
they erected the neat and commodious edifice in
which they how statedly worship. The congrega-
tion at that time belonged to the same circuit as
those of Whippany, Chatham, and Green Village ;
and the ministers in charge were the Rev. Messrs.
Lewis R. Dunn and Israel S. Corbit. The con-
fijresration is now associated with the church in
Whippany alone ; and the Rev. Joseph G-askill is
the minister in charge.

In the year 1845, the burying-ground was con-
siderably enlarged by the purchase of some ad-
"oining land belonging to the Rev. Mr. Sewall,

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 79

for which the parish paid one hundred dollars ;
and in the year 1846, the name of the congrega-
tion was changed to the " First Presbyterian
Church of Madison," which it now bears.

When Mr. Arms began his labors here, the
number of church members was one hundred and
fifty. His efforts to build up the Redeemer's
kingdom, while the pastor of the church, were
very abundantly and signally blessed. Three or
four revivals of religion were enjoyed under his
ministry ; and one very extensive and powerful
one marked the commencement of his labors in
this place. In the multiplied labors connected
with this work of grace, he was assisted by the
Rev. Messrs. Peter and George Kanouse, as well
as others, whose happy influence here will never
cease to be acknowledged and felt in this com-
munity. Large numbers were received into the
fellowship of the church, as the result of these
special efforts, among whom were many heads of
families ; and the congregation enjoyed a remark-
able degree of prosperity. "While he w^as the pastor
of this church, there were nearly three hundred
persons added to its membership, either by certifi-
cate, or upon profession of their faith in Christ.

80 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

The Rev. Nathaniel E. Pierson, of Westtown,
New York, and the Rev. Charles H. Force, of
Unadilla, in the same State, are in the number of
the hopeful converts under his ministry.

In the early part of the year 1846, the congre-
gation came into possession of the " Church
Library, ^^ which now stands in the pastor's study
at the parsonage. This library contains one
hundred and sixty-seven volumes of the best
works which have been issued by the " Presby-
terian Board of Publication ;" and for it, the con-
gregation are indebted to the generosity of Mr.
David Say re, of Lexington, Kentucky, a son of
Mr. Ephraim Sayre, who for many years was a
deacon and an elder in this church.

For a great many years the evening meetings
in this village were held in the upper room of the
academy. This was a very inconvenient and
uncomfortable place for divine worship, and, as a
consequence, the project of erecting a lecture-
room for this purpose, was often the subject of
conversation. At length, in the fall of 1849, a
lot was purchased of Mrs. Mahlon Pierson, on the
point formerly occupied by the store of Mr.
Obadiah Crane ; and measures were at once

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

81

adopted to erect the new edifice. The following
gentlemen were appointed the building commit-
tee, to wit : Messrs. Benjamin Birdsall, G-eorge
T. Sayre, and Ashbel Bruen. The latter, how-
ever, soon resigned, and the superintendence of
the work devolved, as a consequence, upon the
other two gentlemen who have been named.
To the persevering efforts of Mr. Birdsall, more,
perhaps, than those of any other person, is the
congregation indebted for this neat and com-
modious edifice. The building was erected dur-

THE LECTURE-ROOM.

ing the year 1850, and was dedicated by the

pastor, Rev. Mr. Arms, assisted by the Rev.
4*

82 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

Charles H. Force, and the Rev. Joseph M. Ogden,
on Sabbath afternoon, the 9th day of February
of the year following. Its dimensions are twenty-
eight feet by forty-five. It is constructed of
wood, and finished, both within and without, in a
very neat and simple manner, after the Grecian
style. It is well carpeted, and otherwise furnish-
ed with blinds, sofa, solar lamps, &c., and is
capable of accommodating about two hundred and
twenty-five persons. The Bible and Hymn-book,
in the pulpit, were presented by Mr. Benjamin
Ludlow Brittin, of Arkansas, on the day that the
house was dedicated.

The dedication of the lecture-room was among
the concluding acts of Mr. Arms' ministry in this
church. On the third day of June following,
after having held the pastorate for about eighteen
and a half years, he was dismissed by the Pres-
bytery of Newark, at his own request, to enter
his present field of labor, in Ridgebury, Orange
county, New York ; carrying with him the respect
and confidence, as well as the kindly wishes, of
his people.

About three months after the resignation of Mr.
Arms, the Rev. S. S. Hughson was employed by

PRESBYTERIAJSr CHURCH, MADISON. 83

the congregation to labor among them as a stated
supply. He was a native of Chester, in this
State, and pursued his coUegate studies at Ober-
lin, Ohio, and his theological, at the " Union
Seminary," in the city of New York. He labored
here in the capacity just mentioned, with great
diligence, for a little more than a year, when he
withdrew to enter his present field of labor in
Penn Yan, Yates county, New York.

For one year after Mr. Hughson's retirement,
the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. John M.
Johnson, of Morristown. Mr. Johnson, who was a
son of the late Peter A. Johnson of the place just
mentioned, graduated at the College of New Jer-
sey, in the year 1835 ; and pursued his theolog-
ical studies in the Union Theological Seminary,
New York. For several years he officiated as the
pastor of the Presbyterian church, at Hanover,
until the year 1849, when he was obliged to retire
from pastoral life, on account of an affliction which
at one time threatened the total loss of his sight.
While he was supplying the pulpit in this place,
he was instrumental in deciding the congregation
to relieve themselves of an unpleasant debt of a
considerable amount, which for some years pre-

8i PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

viously had proved the occasion of no little diffi-
culty ; and justice requires that the fact should
be placed on record, also, that to the efficiency
and persevering efforts of the ladies of the parish
this important result is in a great measure to be
ascribed. In a great variety of ways, Mr. John-
son rendered the most valuable services to this
congregation, while they v/ere without a pastor ;
and his happy influence over this church, it is
believed, will long be acknowledged and felt by
this entire community.

I will only add, that on the sixth day of Decem-
ber, 1853, the church and congregation united in
a call to the writer of this history, to become their
pastor ; and that on the third day of January,
1854, he was formally inducted by the Presby-
tery of Newark, into his present responsible posi-
tion; Rev. Job F. Halsey, of West Bloomfield,
presiding, and proposing the constitutional ques-
tions; Rev. Joseph F. Tuttle, of Rockaway
(brother of the pastor), preaching the sermon,
on Mark xvi. 15. ; Rev. J. Few Smith, of the Sec-
ond Church in Newark, delivering the charge to
the pastor ; and Rev. John M. Johnson, of Morris-
town, the charge to the people.

PRESBYTEEIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 85

The writer, it is hoped, will be pardoned, if, for
the gratification of his friends, he adds, that he is
a native of Bloomfield, in this State, being a de-
scendant, on his mother's side, of Deacon Law-
rence Ward, one of the first settlers of Newark ;
and on his father's, of Stephen Tuttle, one of the
first settlers of Elizabethtown ; that he pursued
his preparatory studies in Bloomfield ; his col-
legiate studies in the College of New Jersey,
where he graduated in the year 1836 ; his theo-
logical studies under the venerable Dr. Richards,
in the seminary at Auburn, N. Y., where he
graduated in the year 1840 ; that in the month
of October, of the same year, he was licensed by
the Presbytery of Newark to preach the Gospel ;
that, three months subsequently, he was installed
by the same body as the pastor of the Presbyterian
church at Caldwell, in this State, where he con-
tinued to labor for about eight and a half years ;
that, after resigning his charge in that place, he
spent nearly five years in the service of the Ameri-
can Bible Society, as their "Agent for Connecti-
cut," and as their " Assistant Secretary" at the
Bible House, New York ; and that, from the sec-
retarial department of that institution, he was

86 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

called to his present position as the pastor of this
church.

At the commencement of the present pastorate,
the following gentlemen constituted the session of
this church, viz. : Messrs. Ira Burnet, Lewis
Thompson, Ichabod Bruen, Ashbel Carter, and
William P. Conklin. The deacons of the church
were, Messrs* William Crowell and Ichabod
Bruen, the former of whom departed this life on
the 16th of February following. On the 21st day
of March, immediately ensuing, the church made
choice of the following individuals, to be added to
the session, to wit: Messrs. Wm. M. Muchmore
and Albert Carter, and Dr. G-eorge Cole ; and at
the same time they elected the following persons
to the office of deacon, to wit: Messrs. Caleb C.
Burroughs, Amaza W. Genung, and David M.
Force.

In the month of April following, the congrega-
tion purchased their present commodious parson-
age, and fitted it up for their minister. The
property, which stands on the corner southwest
of the academy, and was formerly occupied as a
boarding-school by Mr. Franklin Sherril, , was
bought of Abraham Brittin, Esq., for the sum of

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

87

nineteen hundred dollars ; and was fitted up at an
expense of nearly five hundred dollars, under the
direction of Dr. H. P. Gfreen and Mr. James
Albright, the former of whom was president, and

THE PABSONAGE

the latter, clerk, of the Board of Trustees. The
dimensions of the building are twenty-two feet by
forty ; it is two and a half stories high ; and has a
dry and well-lighted basement. It contains twelve
finished rooms, and twelve closets and pantries
besides a cellar and coal-room ; a hall, running
through the centre, twenty-one feet by nine, and
an inclosed piazza in the rear of it, of forty feet by
eight. The dining-room in the basement is about
eighteen feet square ; while the parlor on the first

88 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

floor, and the study on the second, are each
twenty-one feet by fourteen. On the property is
a good barn, well, cistern, &c. ; and the lot con-
tains a little more than half an acre. Its location
is one of the finest in this vicinity, commanding
very extensive and beautiful views in every direc-
tion.

In the latter part of March, of the same year,
the church and congregation were favored with a
very extensive and precious revival of religion ;
and it is with unfeigned gratitude and pleasure
that the writer is able to state, that, during the
first year of his ministry here, there were received
into the communion of this church, either by cer-
tificate, or upon a profession of their faith in
Christ, but three short of sixty persons.

The church and congregation have great reason
to be thankful that they possess and enjoy all the
various equipments and arrangements of a well-
ordered Christian parish. Their large, substan-
tial, and w^ell-appointed sanctuary ; their conve-
nient and beautiful lecture-room ; their venerable
and attractive cemetery ; their commodious and
spacious parsonage ; and all their other conve-
niences and various appliances for the maintenance

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 89

of divine worship, place them in a very high rank
amonor neis^hborinsr consfreo^ations. In an outward

DO D O O

point of view, the society is, perhaps, in a more
prosperous condition than it has ever been before ;
and, as far as the spiritualities of the church are
concerned, we have, all of us, great reason to be
devoutly thankful.

With respect to the benevolent operations of the
parish, it may be proper to add, in this connec-
tion, that the following societies have been organs
ized, and are now in active operation among us,
to wit : the " Ladies' Missionary Society," which
contemplates the raising of funds in aid of Foreign
Missions ; the " Madison Female Bible Society,"
which labors to supply those who are destitute,
within our limits, with the Holy Scriptures ; the
"Madison Home Missionary Society," which con-
templates rendering aid to the Home Missionary
operations of the day ; and the " Madison Tract
Society," which is engaged in distributing tracts,
and other religious publications, from house to
house within our borders. In addition to these,
we have amonsr us a vio^orous and efficient associa-
tion, called the " Ladies' Diligent Society," which
contemplates the furnishing, repairing, &c., of the

90 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

church and the lecture-room. iVll these societies
are diligently employed in their respective spheres,
and are accomplishing much good.

The stated religious services of the church, at
the present time, are as follows : at half-past ten
on the morning of the Sabbath, divine worship is
held^ in the sanctuary ; at three o'clock in the
afternoon, the Sabbath-school is attended in the
same place ; and on Sabbath evening, divine ser-
vice is attended again in the lecture-room. On
the evening of Tuesday the prayer-meeting, which
has been regularly maintained for the last sixty-
five years, is held in the lecture-room ; and on the
evening of Thursday, a weekly lecture is delivered
in the same place. The monthly concert of prayer
for Home and Foreign Missions, is attended on the
Sabbath evening preceding the first Monday even-
ing of each month ; and on the afternoon of the
Sabbath, the pastor lectures alternately in the
school-houses at Union Hill, East Madison, and
Grreen Yillao:e. The leadinsr causes of benevo-
lence are brought before the church at stated in-
tervals ; that of Foreign Missions being assigned
for the month of January, and that of Domestic
Missions for the month of July. The Lord's Sup-

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 91

per is statedly celebrated on the first Sabbaths of
December, March, June, and September ; the pre-
paratory lecture being attended on the Saturday
afternoon preceding each of these seasons.

The officers of the church at this time are :
Elders — Messrs. Ichabod Bruen, Lewis Thomp-
son, Ira Burnet, Ashbel Carter, Wm. P. Conklin,
Greorge Cole, M.D., William M. Muchmore, and
Albert Carter. Deacons — Messrs. Ichabod Bruen,
Caleb C. Burroughs, David M. Force, and Amza
W. Grenung. Trustees — Henry P. Grreen, M.D.,
James Albright, G-eo. E. Sayre, Amza W. G-enung,
"William M. Muchmore, and Albert Carter.

It may be proper to add, as an index of the
present character of this people, that the congre-
gation, in its corporate capacity, assumed the
responsibility of publishing five hundred copies of
this history, and directed their Board of Trustees
to take the oversight of the work.

Such, then, is a brief sketch of the history
and the present condition of this old church and
congregation. It is now one hundred and eight
years since it was organized, and about one hun-
dred and six years since our first house of worship
was erected in this place. The worship of God

92 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

was regularly maintained here by our ancestors
for a period of nearly thirty years, before the com-
mencement of the Revolutionary War ; and all
through that dark and eventful period, our sanc-
tuary was thrown open from Sabbath to Sabbath,
for, the accommodation of all classes in this com-
munity. Our old meeting-house stood on yonder
beautiful eminence, when Washington and his
army were passing back and forth, on their way
from the sea-board to the interior ; and while
they were lying in winter quarters in this
vicinity, many of them repaired thither to record
their vows before Grod ; and it is a fact that we
may be allowed here to state, that when the
United States were first admitted as an inde-
pendent sovereignty among the nations of the
earth, this old church had been in existence, and
been shedding light upon the paths of men, and
been gathering in precious souls for heaven, for a
period of nearly forty years. One year after the
" Declaration of Independence " was published to
the world, the first pastor of this church was
"gathered to his fathers," having been toiling
here by day and by night, to win souls to the
Redeemer, for twenty-five years. For four gener-

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 93

ations, this cliurch has regularly kept up the
administration of the Lord's Supper, and main-
tained all the other rites and observances of our
holy religion. During all that time, it has been
throwing up barriers in the way of the progress of
vice and immorality of every description ; it has
been conducting inquiring souls to " the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sins of the world ;"
and been pointing the sons and daughters of sor-
row to Him who came to " bind up the broken-
hearted." The number of those who have been
influenced by its various instrumentalities, either
directly or indirectly, to " walk in wisdom's
ways," no human being can tell. The record of
all these is on hic^h. The entire number of those
who have been actual members of the church, it is
wholly out of our power to determine. On
account of the loss of our sessional records, pre-
vious to the year 1790, we shall never be able to
know hovj many^ and ivho^ were members here,
antecedent to that time ; but it is a pleasure that
we are able to state, that the number of persons
enrolled upon the catalogue of the church, since
the period referred to, does not materially vary
from one thousand.

94 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

"We are happy, also, to be able to state that nine
of the children of the church* have gone forth
from us to proclaim to their fellow men " the un-
searchable riches of Christ;" and that two others,!
having become the wives of Home Missionaries,
are now laboring to build up the Redeemer's king-
dom in the frontier settlements at the West.

This church has passed through many trials.
It has had its enemies, although now, even the
names of these have passed away for ever from the
memory of all the living. It has lost many tried
and self-sacrificing friends. At various periods in
its history, many persons who have been its firm-
est pillars, have been removed by death ; and there
have been many others who have left us at various
times to locate themselves in other parts of our
country, and to cast in their influence to build up
Christian institutions elsewhere. The church has,

* Rev. Matthias Burnet; Rev. Barnabas Bruen 5 Rev. Eliazer
Burnet ; Rev. Franklin Sherrill, of Wisconsin ; Rev. Nathaniel E.
Pierson, of Orange co., N. Y.; Rev. Charles H. Force, of Otsego co.,
N. Y. ; Rev. Geo. Thompson, missionary to Africa ; Rev. M. L. R. P.
Thompson, D.D., Buffalo, N. Y. ; Rev. Wilmot Thompson, of Ohio.

t Mrs. Eliza Carter Orr, wife of the Rev. Robert Orr, of Wis-
consin, and daughter of the late Lewis Carier ; and Mrs. Caroline
Keep Lum, wife of the Rev. Samuel Y. Lum, of the territory of
Kansas, and adopted daughter of Mr. Henry Keep, of this place.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 95

consequently, seen many days when every thing
seemed to be very dark and unpromising. It has
passed through periods when it seemed as if it must
go down ; and yet " the angel of the Lord has en-
camped round about it," and given us abundant
evidence that, " as the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so is the Lord round about his people,
from henceforth, even for ever."

In times past, the church has been an object
of special divine favor. Grod has granted it fre-
quent and most wonderful outpourings of his
spirit J in answer to prayer; many revivals of relig-
ion have been enjoyed by it, and from generation
to generation it has been the object of the divine
sympathy and care. One flourishing Presbyterian
church, and three Methodist Episcopal churches,
and, within the past year, a Protestant Episcopal
church,^ have sprung up within its original bounds,
and been constituted, in some measure, of those
who were formerly members of this parish, and
yet we are not consumed.

* This congregation is now worshipping in - Oriental Hall ;"
but having already purchased a lot adjoining the residence of
Augustus Blanchet, Esq., they intend erecting a church for their
accommodation, during the ensuing spring. Their rector, Rev.
John A. Jerome, has been preaching for them now about three
months.

96 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.

The average number of communicants in the
church during sixteen of its most prosperous
years, and when it was the only church in the
township of Cliatham, was tivo hundred and fifty.
This was during the pastorate of the Rev. Mr.
Bergen ; and at the present time, notwithstanding
all the drafts which have been made upon us by
all these churches around us, and notwithstand-
ing the losses which we have sustained by death
and by removals to other parts of the country, the
number of our communicants is but little short of
tivo hundred and forty. Since the church's or-
ganization, whole generations of its active friends
and supporters have gone down to the grave, and
thousands of hearts which have heretofore beat in
sympathy with it, have been chilled by the hand
of death ; and there have been junctures in its
history, arising from these trying dispensations,
which have sometimes caused the friends of this
our Zion, to feel profoundly anxious for the future.
As the pillars of the church have, one after an-
other, fallen, the prayer has often gone up from
this sanctuary, and from these family altars all
around us, " Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth,
for the faithful fail from the children of men ;"

PKESBYTERIAX CHURCH, MADISON. 97

and we have reason to know that that prayer has
as often been heard by Him who heareth prayer ;
and it is our happiness to know that this old
church, which we have inherited from our fathers,
is now neither dead^ nor declining^ but that under
the benignant smiles of its adorable Saviour and
Head, it is still livin^^ to hold up the lamp of life
before the world, and to scatter the rich blessings
of the everlasting Gospel among all those who
live within its reach. Like a rich merchant-ship,
it has come down to us, wafted by the prayers of
the saints, and freighted with the priceless bless-
ings of redemption, both for ourselves and for the
world ; and to-day it is our happiness to behold it
riding quietly upon the great stream of time down
which it has come, with every sail set, with every
streamer flying, and under the favoring gales of
heaven, going down to unborn generations, carry-
ing with it the same blood-bought blessings which
it has brought down to us. Grod bless it I God
bless it I ! G-od bless it ! ! I as it floats down to
the future I God make it in, cdl time to come, ivhat
it has been to generations past, and ivhat it is
still to us !

The place where we arc now assembled, my

98 rRESBYTEKIAN CHUKCH, MADISON.

friends, is holy ground. "This is none other than
the house of Grod ; this is the very gate of heav-
en." Here have our fathers often met to record
their vows before " the Most Hisjh." Here have
tliey often gathered around the table of the Lord,
and v/ith broken hearts, partaken of the symbols
of his love. Here have they met God in his holy
temple. Here have they enjoyed the visitations
of divine grace. Here have they met to revive
their Christian graces — '^ to trim their lamps, and
to gird up their loins ;" to gather consolation and
support under their trials, and to prepare them-
selves from time to time for the great conflict of
life. Here have they often sat together ^' in these
heavenly places in Christ Jesus," and enjoyed
sweet foretastes of heaven ; and from this sacred
mount of privilege have they gone up, one by one,
to join "the general assembly and church of the
first-born, whose names are written in heaven."
'Not far from where we are nov/ assembled, their
precious remains have been intrusted to the earth,
until the morning of the resurrection. The church
of God, which was precious in their eyes, with
all its various instrumentalities and agencies,
with all its ordinances and means of grace, they

PRESBYTEEIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 99

have most solemnly given in trust unto us ; and
we have been honored ivith a place in the succes-
sion of these Christian worthies. In these cir-
cumstances, may we not, with propriety, each one
for himself, declare: ^^ If I forget ihee^ O Jeru-
salem^ let my right hand forget her cunning : If
I do 7iot remember tiiee, let my tongue cleave to
the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem
above my chief joy'*'' ? And shall we not, on this
thanksgiving morning, with our m^inds refreshed
with the contemplation of the faithfulness and lov-
ing kindness of God towards us as a people, " set
up our Ebenezer^^^ as Samuel did, and with glad
hearts and voices, say, ^^ Hitherto hath the Lord
helped us^^ ? jA.nd with the Psalmist, shall we
not add, '' I will extol thee, my G-od, 0 King, and
I will bless thy name for ever and ever. One
generation shall praise thy works to another^ and
shall declare thy mighty acts. Praise the Lord,
0 Jerusalem! Praise thy G-od, 0 Zion I For
he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; he
hath blessed thy children ivithin thee. Let Israel
rejoice in him that made him — let the children of
Zion be joyful in their king. For the Lord taketh
jileasure in his people ; he loill beautify the meek
ivith salvation.'^''

APPEi^DIX.

31 1 X I S T E R S .

Rev. Nehemiali Greonman. 1T")0

" Azariah Horton 1 "

,32

" Aarou Richards 1777

" Ebenezer Bradford 1779

'• Alexfmder Miller 1782

'* Asa Ilillyer 17^i)

" Matthew La Rue Perrine 1801

" John G. Bergen ISIO

'• Daniel Beers 1829

" Alexander G. Frazer 1 S32

" Clifford S. Arms . . 1833

S. S. Hnghson 18.52

John M. Johnson 1853

Samuel L. Tuttle 1854

103

10

AVPENDIX.

RULING ELDERS.

John Pierson. I'-'iS

Sylvenus Hedges 1760

Joseph Wood. ... . . ... 1"05

Paul Dav 17r.5

Ephralm Sayre ]"S3

Moses Allen 1~8G

Jonathan Nichols 1789

Jacob Bonnel 1790

Stephen Day ''

Jonathan Thompson .... "

Enos Ward 1 793

Jonathan Brueu 1800

Samuel Muchmore "

Aaron Burnet 1 804

Lum Foster ''

Israel Lum 1807

Benjamin Thompson .... 1808
Stephen Day '* -

William Thompson 1810

John J. Conkling 1819

Charles Carter "

Philip Cockrem "

Zophar Freeman 1825

Obadiah Crane, "

Lewis Thompson "

William Crowell 1826

Ichabod Bruen "

Benjamin Crane 1834

Ellis C. Thompson "

John S. Beach "

Ira Burnet "

William P. Conklin 1844

Ashbel Carter "

George Cole, M.D 1854

William M. Muchmore . . "
Albert Carter "

DEACONS.

Sylvenus Hedges 1758 William Thompson 1826

John Pierson 17G0

Paul Day 1765

Joseph Wood "

Jonathan Thompson 1799

Ephralm Sayre „ "

Samuel Muchmore 183 1:

Moses Allen 1819

Zophar Freeman "

William Crowell 1834

Ichabod Bruen "

Caleb C. Burroughs 1854

David M. Force "

Araza W. Genung

((

APPENDIX.

105

ASSESSORS, COLLECTORS, AND TRUSTEES.

Daniel Day 1757

Horrick Benjamin "

Obadiah Lum "

Thomas Genung "

David Corey 1758

Paul Day *•

Benjamin Ladner "

Josiah Miller 1759

William Burnet "

Nathaniel Bonnel 1760

Thomas Day *•

Silas Hand "

Isaac Winans 1761

Benjamin Day "

Stephen Day "

Stephen Hand, Jun "

Aaron Burnet, Jun "

Jabez Foster "

Nathan Wilkinson "

Aaron Burnet 1762

Joseph Day "

James Tichenor 1763

John Pierson "

Abraham Corey 1761

Luke Carter 1765

Joseph Foster "

Joseph Wiuget "

James Burnet 1766

Ellis Cook 1767

Ananias Halsey •'

John Harris 1767

Thomas Bonnel "

David Bruen 176S

David Ward "

Benjamin Carter 1769

Samuel Frost 1770

Jacob Morrel "

Theophilus Miller 1771

EnosWard "

Josiah Hand "

Josiah Broadweil 1772

Jonathan Thompson .... 1774

Elias Bruen "

George Carter "

John Bonnel '"

Aaron Carter 1775

Joseph Wood 1777

John Dixon 1778

L«rael Ward "

Josiah Burnet "

SethCrowell ''

John Roberts 1780

Ephraim Sayre ''

Joseph Miller '•

David Ward, Jun "

William Butler 1783

Thomas Carter 1784

Uzal Corey "

Thomas Coylc 1785

Jonathan Nichols "

106

APPENDIX.

JohnCrowell 1789

Foster Horton 1790

John Blanchard '•'

Daniel Burnet "

ThadtleusDay "

Benjamin Cook 1791

Luther Howell "

James Donaldson 1792

William Day "

Samuel Gardner '*

Moses Allen "

Jacob Bonnel 1793

Jonathan Bruen 1795

Samuel Denman "

Samuel Much more "

Joseph Bruen "

Philip Cocki-em 1797

Simeon Broadwell 1800

Thomas Eddy '<

Stephen Day, Jun 1801

Archibald Sayre 1802

William Brittin 1803

Benjamin Bruen '•

Silas Ward "

Nathaniel Roberts ' *

William Thompson ISOI

Ichabod Bruen "

Matthias Ward <•'

Abraham Burnet •'

Luke Miller i805

Elias Woodruff "

Silas Jaggers <<

Aaron Burnet <•

William Eddy isoG

Elijah Wi\rd <•

Vfilliam Spencer "

John Ward 1807

Flavel Woodruff 1808

Daniel Crane "

Luke Carter "

Samuel Donman "

John Caldwell "

Caleb Blanchard "

Ebenezer C. Pierson .... 1809

David Bowers 1810

Elias Howell 1811

Benjamin L. Day 1816

Benjamin P. Lum 1819

Lewis Carter 1821

Samuel Roberts "

Jeptha B. Munn, M.D 1822

Thomas Darling 1824

Isaac Brittin '•

Benjamin Douglass 1827

William Sayre "

Aaron Carter 1828

Samuel P. Thomas 1830

Stephen P. Stiles «

Ellis C. Thompson "

Ashbel Carter *'

Ashbel Bruen *•'

WickliffH.Genung "

David Burnet, Jun 1832

Collin Robinson "

Walter Sturges ''

John B.Miller "

Henry P. Green, M.D. . . 1833

Abraham Brittin 1^36

Isaac Mills 1838

Robert Albright "

Amza W. Genung 1839

Luther Eddy ♦'

Ezra Howell 1840

William P. Conklin "

APPENDIX.

107

MatOiias L. Burnet 1S40 James Albright 1S53

Stephen D. Hunting 1841 Joseph S. Fayre 1854

Henry Keep 1842

IraBuruet 1848

Charles Ptoss "

George T. Sayre 1851

Benjamin Birdsall "

George E. Sayrc 1S52

Samuel Eoherts. Jun "

William W. Beach "

Yvllliam M. Mucbmore ... "

Albert Carter '•

David M: rorcc 1855

Copy of the First JMinutc Entprnl upon the Records of this Parish

•'South hanover Wednesday y^ 7''' of Septemljcr Anno D 1757.

At a moating appointed and met at the meati.ng house and pro-
cGaded in the folowing manor, By way of Voats —

Aaron Burnet moderator Stephen Morehouse, Clark
ObadiahLum & thomas goanung assessors Daniel Day and horick
Benjamin Collectors Voated that ]SIr horton shall have Seventy
pound S.vllery for y' comeing yea re Paul Day and Benjamin
Lg.dnor appointed to make up acounts with all y'^ Collectors for
several years past and to Endeavor that all old Rearages in Mr
hortons Rats (rates) Be made good to him thomas Day Esq appoint-
ed to Secure a Deed for a Certain acre of Land wich has Ben pur-
chased of David hamclton or Else the money to Be Rated Benja-
min Ladnor appointed to keep as a trustea all the writings Be^
longing to this Congregation "

-7?i Exirirt from the Parish Records in reference to Psalmody.

'^ thursday Janu^ y' 11'^ 1759

at a meating appointed and met at this house and passed y* fol-
lowing voats namely 1 that y^ ReaV" Mr Joans should Be moder-
ator and y*" ReaV' Mrs. (Messrs.) Ilorton and Elenmore preasent to
assist in the S. 'tiling of the Diferancqs Relating to y* Psalms
2 that we shall no more Sing Both Vertions as formerly But that
we Sball now pass a Voat wich shall be Sung hully 3 Voated
that Wats's Vertion shall be Sung here hully for time to come
then Dismissed y* Reav^ Mrs. (Messrs.) Joans, horton and Elenmore

APPENDIX, 109

and Yoatecl Ct. Bonnel moderator, and Samuel fraust &

Isaac Winans to Lead the psalm-tune Voated to have pues

Built all Round this house and Seats in j" midle ''

Copy of the Jilinufcs in reference to the finishing of the old Electing House,

" Wednsday September the o year 1764 South hanover

At a parish meeting appointed and mett att this house and
passed the following votes viz Chose Beniamin Day Esquire mod-
erator

Stephen hand Jr. Clark — Josiah miller and James tichenor as-
sessors Ben Day Esquy and abraham Corey Collectors — voted
that Josiah Broadsvell Esqy and Jacob morral shall have Liberty
to Build a pue at the West End of the house voted that the old
Committee Be Dissolved voted That Beniamin Day Esqy and
Thomas genong and Josiah miller Be a new Committee for to
have the Care of the finishing of the meeting house''

Monday SepteraV the ,24'^ yr 1764 att a parish meeting ap-
pointed and met at this house and passed the folowing votes viz
Chose Dccon John pierson moderator

1 voted that Josiah Broadwell and Jacob morral Shall Build a
pue at the west end of the Meeting house adjoyning to the corner
pue

2 voted that David Bruing Do Build a pue next To Mr Broad-
well

3 voted that Silas hand Do Build a pue next to 'yiv Bruing

4 voted that Josiah hand and William Burnet Do Build a pue
in the front gallery over the mens stairs

5 voted Aaron Burnet Jr do Build a pue in the front galleiy
next to Josiah hand and William Burnet

6 voted that Josiah miller and Luke Carter Do Build the third
pue in the front gallery

7 voted that James tichenor and Samuel RobLarts Do Build
the fourth pue in the" front gallery over the w^omans stairs

S voted that Beniamin Sayres and Stephen Robbarts Do Build
the first pue in the East End gallery next to the stairs

110 APPEXUIX.

9 voted that Israel ward and nehemlali Carter Do Build Ibe
third pue in the East End gallery

N. B all the aforsaid votes were Carried in the aflSrmative when
the greater part of the Congregation were present *'

Other Short Extracts from the Parish Records.

'• Southanover September the S'' year 1771

voted at the anual meeting appointed according to obligation
and passed the following votes viz voted David Bruing moderator
and Stephen hand Jr Clark

voted that Thomas genong Elis Cook Abraham Corey and
Samuel frost give mr horton Jointly a Bond for what is Due to
him By his old Arrears and to take the old arrears or accompts
in Lue thereof and to Colect the Same in any manner they Think
Best

voted David ward and Josiah hand assessors Theophilus miler
and Enos ward Colectors"

'■ 1776 at a meeting Appointed and held here in this house
Called the Southanover parish meeting house on wensday the 4*''
day of September and passed the following votes viz Chose Decon
paul day moderator Chose David Bruing James Burnet and paul
day a Committee to go to the prisbittery with mr horton the
second tuesday in October next Insuing upon the parrish affairs"'

"At a Parrish meeting held at the South Hanover meeting house
May 24 1779 — voted Joseph "Wood Esq moderator — Voted that
the pasnige house and home lot should not be hired out

voted that Stephen Day Esquier and John Blanchard and Caleb
Rusel should setle with the manegers of the Lottery

voted that one of the Committy Should Carrey the Letter that
mr green rote to Mr Bradford and they that voted for it to bee
att the expense.

voted that that piece of pasnige by Jonathan Thompson should
be hired out

voted that we should get mr green to preach a Sermon for us
one Sabath and mr Elmore the other

voted that Ephraim Scar should assist in tuning the Salm"

APPENDIX. Ill

"May y*" 28 1779 tliis Day whas rented out by the Committy
for the use of the parrish that piece of pasnedge land by Jonathan
Thompson to Aaron Carter by Public Vandew for 62 pound for
wich he is to improve it to the first of December next from the date
above riten-'

•'•' At a Parrish meeting held at South Hanover meeting House on
March 28"" 1780 Joseph Wood Esq moderator

Voted that a sallery of One Hundred and Forty Pounds New
Jersey Currency (to be paid Old way) is to be raised for Mr
Bradford for one year exclusive of the Parsonage and his being
found in wood

voted that a committee bo chosen for taking care of the Par-
sonage and see what wants doing and to employ some person to
do it

voted that some Person be chose to take care of the meeting
House and to Keep it Swept and Clean it David Laurence Chose
and also Keep the Doors Shutt

voted that Contributions be Kept up every Sabbath and David
Bruen to Ptcceive the contribution money"

"April 26 1785 — voted that Jonathan Nichols is to have the
care of the Meeting house to Shutt the Doors and "Windows and to
sweep and Sand it once a month for which he is to have twenty
five shillings per year"

" June 7 1791: — voted that Jonathan Nichols shall have sixpence
on the Pound for Collecting the Salery — also that the collections
shall be quarterly and at the end of the year all the Delinquents
Shall have Notis to pay Within thirty Days or have their Names
Returned to a Justis of peace"

"March 16 1795 — voted that Mr Hillyor shall have one hun-
dred and thirty Pounds for his salary in addition to the parsonage
and his fire wood"

" South Hanover July 22 ISOl

At a Parish meeting Jacob Bonnel was chosen Moderator and
Jonathan Bruen clerk

112 APPENDIX.

Mr Ilillycr having previously informed the congregation that
after serious and mature deliberation he thought it was his duty
to request the Presbytery to dissolve the pastoral relation to this
Church,, desired the Congregation to unite -with him in this
request.

The Congregation with inexpressible pleasure recapitulated Mr
Hillycr's various Ministerial services and the uninterrupted Har-
mony and Friendship that had subsisted between them and with
mournful dejection were constrained to anticipate their afflicted
situation should so near a relation be dissolved ; and although it
would be the unanimous wish of the Congregation that Mr Hil-
lyer should continue to be their pastor, if he could see it to be his
duty and feel himself contented and happy with them — yet as he
appears to be conscious that he has a Call in Providence to leave
them and can no longer be contented in his present situation —
the Congregation sincerely desirous of the happiness and prosper-
ity of Mr Hillyer and his family, taking into view his request
were not disposed to urge him to continue to be their pastor.
Therefore resolved unanimously to concur with him in requesting
the Presbytery at their next meeting to dissolve the pastoral rela-
tions between Mr Hillyer and this Church.

Jacob Bonnel was appointed a commissioner to represent this
congregation and to lay the above resolution before the Presbytery
at New York on the first Tuesday of August next.-'

"August 31. 1811 Rev Mattheuc La Rue Perrine presented a
communication addressed to the Moderator in which he expressed
his desire to be dismissed from the pastoral care of this Church
and the hope that the Parish would not oppose him in this wish
— whereupon the congregation voted neither to favor or oppose
Mr. Perrine in reference to this matter — but to leave it wholly
to himself and the Presbytery."

•' The parish appointed William Brittin, Elijah Ward and Ebe-
nezer C. Pierson to procure supplies for the pulpit in case Mr
Perrine is dismissed."'

*' They agree to give to settled ministers three dollars and to

APPENDIX. 11

o

unsettled miulEters six dollars a sabbath for their services in sup-
plying the pulpit."

"They elected Ephraim Sayrcs to furnish entertainment for the
supplies of the pulpit.'*

Dec 21. 1811

'• The parish unanimously agreed to give to ifr Perrine a new
call to become their pastor and to offer him six hundred dollars a
year salary together with thirty cords of good merchantable wood.
The Committee to prosecute the call consisted of Elias Howell and
Benjamin Thompson."

" May 1. 1812 The Committee to prosecute the above call re-
ported that in view of all the circumstances of the case Mr Per-
rine had concluded not to renew his engagement as the pastor of
this Church."'

August 11. 1828 Resolved — In view of Rev Mr Bergens re-
quest to be dismissed from the pastoral care of this Church — that
while 'a large proportion of this congregation are still strongly
attached to their pastor and deeply regret the circumstances
which have led him to request them to unite with him in asking a
dissolution of the pastoral relation subsisting between himself and
them — they will make no opposition to his taking such a course
as he with the concurrence of the Presbytery may think it his
duty to pursue.*'

" May 29. 1851 An application having been placed before the
Congregation by Rev C. S. Arms for the appointment of commis-
sioners to unite with him in requesting to be dismissed from the
pastoral care of this Church — the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted —

1. Resolved That we cherish a high sense of the value and im-
portance of the past services of Mr Arms during his long and suc-
cessful labors among us in the work of the ministry, and we rejoice
to bear testimony to his fidelity and uniform devotion to his work,
and to his pastoral care, in his readiness ever to sympathise with

114 APPENJjIX.

the afilictetl, clieer the desponding, comfort tlie sorrowing, relieve
the distressed, and point the inquiring soul to the Savior of siu-
ners. And we also bear testimony to his unimpeachable character
as a raa,n, as a citizen, always studying the things that make for
peace.

2. Resolved That we deeply sympathise with Mr Arms in the
failure of his health ; and regret the existence of any circum-
stances which render it necessary in his judgment to seek the dis-
solution of his pastoral relation.

3. Resolved That while we feel constrained to acquiesce in his
request, it gives us pleasure to express our undiminished confi"
deuce in him as a man, a christian and a minister of Jesus Christ ;
and v.'e would follow him with our prayers and best wishes for his
future usefulness and comfort wherever the Lord in his Provi-
dence shall call him to labor,

4. Remembering the many years that Mr Arms has labored
with this people, and in view of the impaired state of his health
in which he retires from us, we feel it to be an act of justice to
him and a pleasure to ourselves to offer him a substantial token
of our esteem."

Residences of the first settlers in and about J\Iadison.

'•Benjamin Carter the first, resided on the place opposite the
toll gate, since occupied by Capt Mallaby. His son, of the same
name, lived in the house which was burned dov/n a few years
since near the railroad, and which has been occupied more re-
cently by Mr Joseph Burrall. Jeremiah Genung lived at East
Madison on the place now occupied by Mr. Storrs. Luke Carter
resided on the place owned by his grandson, Mr Ashbel Carter.
Josiah Miller occupied the house which has since been the resi-
dence of his son Major Luke Miller. Theophilus Miller resided
on what was afterwards the homestead of Deacon Ephraim Sayre.
Stephen Hand occupied an old house which stood where Mr
George E. Sayre now lives. Abraham Cory lived on the property
now occupied by Mahlon Carter in East Madison. David Cory
lived where William W. Tunis now resides. Silas Hand occupied
the house where Mr John Knapp now lives. Josiah Hand lived

APPENDIX. 115

where Lis stepson, the late John Hancock, formerly resided.
Lemuel Hedges lived where his grandson, Samuel Hedges, now
resides. Zebedee Potter lived on the property since occupied by
the late Calvin Howell. Mosses Potter occupied the old house
in the lot beyond the residence of John Johnston, belonging to
Lavielle Deberseau. James Burnet lived on the corner now
occupied by the Presbyterian Parsonage. Aaron Burnet— the
father of James, resided near the factory of David L Miller.
Horick Benjamin resided on the site of Mr. Lathrop's farm house,
near the pine tree. Jonathan Thompson resided at first in the
vicinity of David L. Miller's factory, but afterwards on the site of
Mr.Lathrop's farm house, in which Mr. Benjamin had lived before
him. Samuel Roberts the first, settled on the property now occu-
pied by his grandson Joseph Roberts, on the road leading to
Greeuvillage. Stephen Easton lived a little below the house
now occupied by David M. Pierson. John Easton resided on the
property afterwards occupied by Vincent Boisaubin, but now
owned and occupied by A. M. Treadwell. John Muchmore, father
of Deacon Samuel and John T. Muchmore, lived on the place for-
merly occupied by Stephen Easton, but now by David M. Pierson,
on Cherry Hill. Joseph Wingate resided on the farm belonging
to the estate of the late Ashbel Bruen, on the road leading from
Union Hill to Green village. Daniel, Thomas, Stephen and Dea-
con Paul Day, all resided in the vicinity of the brook between
Union Hill and Chatham village. David Br^ien, the grandfather
of Alexander and Deacon Ichabod, resided on the property for-
merly occupied by Benjamin Carter, by the toll gate. Joseph
Bruen, father of Alexander and Ichabod, resided on the hill be-
tween the residences of the Widow Samson and Ellas Bruen.
Jabez Linsley lived on the hill opposite the residence of the late
Benjamin Marsh. Benjamin Ladner occupied the place next
east of the homestead of Deacon C. C. Burroughs. William
Butler lived in a house that is still standing between the old
road and the railroad, nearly opposite the residence of Charles
Marsh. Obadiah Lunn occupied tli« property which after-
wards belonged to Theophilus Miller, and still more recently to
Deacon Ephraim Sayre. David, Thomas and Israel Ward lived

IIG APPENDIX.

between Chatham village and Union Hill. Nathaniel Bonnel
resided near the mills now owned by Crane Bonnel. John Bonnel
lived near the grist mill a little south of the village of Chatham.
Thomas Genang occupied the property now owned by his grand-
son Deacon A. \V. Genung. Benjamin Harris lived in a house
which is yet standing next east of the house formerly belonging to
Deacon Ephraim Sayre. Deacon Joseph "Wood lived in a small
house which stood on the site of John B. Miller's present res-
idence. Benjamin Burroughs lived on the farm which has since
belonged to Baxter Sayre. Ellis Cook lived on the south east
corner by the academy. Aaron Carter resided where his son
Aaron now lives in Union Hill. Captain John Blanchard
lived where Tv'illiam Young now resides. Jacob Morrell, son-in-
law of the first pastor of the church in Madison, resided on the
site of the Presbyterian Parsonage in Chatham village. Foster
Horton, son of the first pastor aforesaid, lived on the place ad-
joining the residence of Mr. Morrell, towards the river : and there
it was that the Rev. Azariah Horton and Eunice his wife both
" saw the last of earth.''

MADISON IN 1854.

The village of Madison now contains about one hundred and
twenty dwelling houses •, six stores ; one large umbrella manufac-
tory owned by Mr. Henry Keep ; fifteen or sixteen shops ; one
Presbyterian church ; a Presbyterian Lecture Room ; a Methodist
Episcopal church ; a Roman Catholic church ; an academy ; one
hotel, called the "Waverly Hoase," and kept by Col. Stephen D.
Hunting ; a Post office ; a railroad depot ; and a large and very
commodious village hall, called " the Oriental Hall," which has
been erected during the last year by members of the "Odd Fellows'
Association."

A new Protestant Episcopal church has just been organized in
the village ; and an edifice is to be erected for their accommodation
during the coming season, on the lot south-east of the residence
of Mr. Augustus D. Blanchet, which has already been purchased
for that purpose ; the society, for the present, worshipping in the
•' Oriental Hall."

APPENDIX. 117

The ministers now located in the village are the Ptcv. Joseph
Gaskill, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church ; the Rev. John
A. Jerome, pastor of the Protestant Episcopal church ; the Rev.
Messrs. Michael Madden and Patrick McGovern, of the Roman
Catholic church, and the Rev. Samuel L. Tuttle, of the Presby-
terian church.

The scenery in and about the village is among the most attrac-
tive to be found any where in our country 5 while its extraordinary
healthfulness, and its facilities for travelling, by means of the
Morris and Essex Railroad, which passes through the very heart
of it, combine to render it one of the most desirable places for
residence to be found anywhere in this vicinity.

[From the Palladium of Liberty."]

Recejyiion of Lafayette at Bottle Hill.

General Lafayette left Morristown at an early hour on Friday,
the loth inst.. and arrived at the house of Col. S. D. Hunting at
about half past 7 o'clock, A. M., where the citizens, numbering
about 200, and the scholars of the school, had been anxiously
awaiting his arrival for more than an hour ; his arrival in the
village being announced by the firing of cannon and the ringing
of bells. When he arrived at the house appointed for his recep-
tion, he was waited-upon by the committee, Col. Wm. Brittin and
Col. S. D. Hunting, and conducted under an arch tastefully
arranged, and decorated with evergreens, into the house, where
refreshments were bountifully spread. The Rev. John G. Bergen
then addressed the General as follows : '• Revered and Honored
Father, we give you a hearty welcome to our happy land. As a
minister of Christ I address you. With my parishioners, I have
come to yield you our congratulations, as the early patriot of our
country, the early companion of our beloved Washington, now no
more. Honourable Sir : May the highest felicity attend you
during your stay in our happy land! May the protection of
Heaven bear you safely on the waves 6f the Ocean to the bosom of
your family, and the blessings of God reston you forever, through
Jesus Christ !" To which the General replied : " Accept, dear
Sir, my congratulations for yourself, your village and your coun-

118 APPENDIX.

try, and my thanks for your kind desires for my welfare." The
General was then conducted into an adjoining room, where the
Ladieswere assembled ; where, also, the young Misses of the Acad-
emy were arranged, dressed in white, and tastefully adorned
with flowers and evergreens, under the care of their Teacher,
John T. Derthick. As soon as they were presented to the notice
of the General, thirteen of them, representing the thirteen orig-
inal States, stepped out, and, in concert, all as one, pronounced
the following address, in a clear, distinct, and impressive manner :

AH hail to the Hero .' Columbia's great friend,
Whose fame will resound till creation shall end ;
Now welcome, thrice welcome, to our happy clime.
Where Virtue is honoured in Freedom sublime.

You sought us when weak, and j-ou found us when poor,
But now we are strong and the conflict is o'er ;
We tender our homage, extend j'ou our hands,
And gratitude every bosom expands.

The loss of our Washington still we regret.

But almost behold him in thee, Lafayette ;

And could his good spirit now look from the dead,

The Heavens would scarcely retain the blest shade.

Now fare you well. Father, we see you no more,
The Ocean will bear you away from our shore :
May Fortune attend you across the broad main,
Until your own daughters enibrace you again '

The eyes of the General appeared to wander over and survey
the interesting group ; when the name of TVashington sounded on
his ear his countenance became grave, and his attention appeared
fixed, as if holding intercourse with the spirit of the departed
"Washington. Two of the young Misses now presented each a
copy of their address to him. The General then very affection-
ately addressed the scholars, repeatedly thanking them for their
attention to him, for their friendly address, and especially for
the manner of delivering it. He then stood for a moment, as if
enjoying the scene, till his attendants interfered, and led him out

APPENDIX. 119

of the room. Col. Brittiu then conducted him to where there
were refreshments, and, after an interchange of good feeling, the
General was conducted to his carriage, and the cavalcade moved
off in the direction of Newark, where he was to be next re-
ceived, &c.

Extract from the Parish Records in reference to this history.

'• Jan 6. 1855 — Resolved That Rev. Samuel L. Tuttle he re-
quested to furnish a copy of the sermon preached by him on
Thanksgiving day in relation to the history of this church and
congregation ; and that the Trustees take the charge of its pub-
lication.''

Li

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